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Elijah Wood helped design limited edition Grado headphones made from whiskey barrels

Elijah Wood helped design limited edition Grado headphones made from whiskey barrels

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Bushmills x Grado headphones
Bushmills x Grado headphones

Bushmills Whiskey has partnered with Grado to produce a limited edition set of headphones partially made from whiskey barrels.  But the collaboration that resulted in the "Bushmills x Grado" headphones was even larger than that. Actor Elijah Wood and Zach Cowie — who perform together as DJ Wooden Wisdom — personally designed the headphones over a period of five months.

Turntable Lab has exclusive retail rights on the $395 headphones, which are crafted from "recycled white oak bodies from the wood of old barrels" that come from a Bushmills distillery in Ireland. A leather headband was chosen because, according to Cowie, "it does have a huge shelf life, but it will also show its age." Of course, the headphones would be nothing without Grado's revered sound signature. "The expression of the music through the headphones was extraordinary," says Wood. Grado says these limited-run headphones have a vented back design, representing a first in the company's long history. Audiophiles looking to incorporate more whiskey into their sound setup can place an order now.