Iowa is the home of many things. Politicians eating corndogs. The world's largest wooden nickel. The future birthplace of James T. Kirk. It is also the home of a lot of corn, some of which becomes authentic Iowa whiskey, and the heavy metal band Slipknot. You might have heard of them. Comprised of nine members (currently) wearing freaky-as-fuck face masks, Slipknot has graced playlists with such songs as "Iowa," from the 2001 album Iowa. This is worthwhile trivia, trust me. Because Tuesday, the band from Des Moines announced it would release its own whiskey from Iowa's own Cedar Ridge Distillery, called No. 9 whiskey.

Liqueur, Drink, Distilled beverage, Alcoholic beverage, Whisky, Bottle, Alcohol, Glass bottle, Scotch whisky, Tennessee whiskey,
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No. 9 Iowa Whiskey and No. 9 Reserve Iowa Whiskey from Slipknot and Cedar Ridge Distillery.

"Slipknot and Cedar Ridge Distillery—two groups of people born and raised in Iowa, and committed to quality and hard work. We collaborated on No. 9 Whiskey, which in addition to Iowa corn, gets some extra spice from its rye content. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Live life, and always be safe," said Slipknot percussionist and founding member Shawn "Clown" Crahan in a statement.

No. 9 Iowa Whiskey will come in two varieties: No. 9 Iowa Whiskey, which will retail for $40, and No. 9 Reserve Iowa Whiskey, which will retail for $70. According to the official website, both are sweet and spicy thanks to higher corn and rye mash bills, and both are bottled at higher proofs for added complexity (90 and 99 proof, respectively).

Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon Whiskey

Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon Whiskey

Cedar Ridge Iowa Bourbon Whiskey

Shop at Reserve Bar

Cedar Ridge itself is Esquire's favorite distillery in the great state of Iowa, thanks in part to its dedication to using Iowa-grown corn from its Iowa family farm. Slipknot's No. 9 Iowa Whiskey won't be available until August 10 in all 50 states—the release date corresponds with Slipknot's Des Moines stop on its Knotfest Roadshow tour—although bottles will be available ahead of time along the tour route. Cedar Ridge whiskey is available now, of course, but you might want to hold out for Slipknot's. It was blended by Clown himself, and he said he'll be signing some bottles when it is released.

For the record, Clown told Forbes he drinks his whiskey in a small glass with a couple of ice cubes, ideally on his houseboat. "It's a creature comfort," he said. "I like to get my day done, kick the shoes off, be in private, and the glass to be nice and chilled, and the bottle nice and chilled." Sounds nice and chill.

Clown might be the first heavy metal rocker to blend his own whiskey, but Slipknot's whiskey comes on the heels of other hard rocking spirits, like Metallica's Blackened whiskey, which is very interesting, and Slayer's collaboration with Jägermeister. (That's not to mention all the other celebrity liquors on the market, good and bad.) Sooner or later, we'll be able to go to the liquor store and browse a shelf of spirits exclusively made by heavy metal bands. That'll be intense.

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