Bruichladdich Rocks

Considering this appears to have been discontinued in 2013, this bottle has been sitting on a local store shelf for a long time, and the build-up of dust on the tin would agree. The nose is red winey and a little briny. Wisp of smoke. On the palate, the bourbon casks hit me first with vanilla sweetness. The red fruit follows close behind. The finish brings a smidge of peat smoke. A little pepper, then barley sugar lingers. It's a little bit thin, but overall I'm really pleased with this. I'm not sure Brew-law-dee can make a bad whisky. Update: this is one that has continued to grow on me with each new taste. The peat level is vaguely reminiscent of Springbank/Kilkerran. Really solid whisky.

I am always guilty of not having enough Bruichladdichs. This life trend started when i tasted the Classic Laddie which i hated, (i know many people love it) because it tasted like soap, shampoo and rice candy. The bottle didn't help either, since it looks exactly as a shampoo bottle. Then, i tasted the Black Art, and it wss fantastic. Eventually i tried not much more, but the initial prejudice was always there: "here comes the shampoo whisky". I even started being skeptic about any organic whisky; luckily Waterford and Nc'Nean showed me that organic single malts can be very good (not benromach). So, i bought this Bruichladdich Rocks (2nd edition), which have wrongly advertised as a whisky you shoud drink with ice. It is really about the geological rock formations on Islay, which happen to be thousands of years old. Without any expectation, lets see how this 46%abv, golden color dram behaves: On the nose, it is quite different from other Bruichladdichs: red apples, Malted barley, Iodine, recently baked brownies and yeast. After the first sip, aroma changed into caramel and salt; hints of Honey. On the palate, it was beautiful. It has this loaf of bread note which is amazing. Yeast. Oranges. It is like the "Yeastiest" whisky ever made. More sips gave me more bread and more oranges. Aftertaste is very rewarding. Pepper, loaf of bread, yeast and Salt notes that are mild but elegant. Hay, dry burnt grass, very long finish. Overall, this is the decisive vote for this distillery, and now, after having this beauty, i pledge to taste more from the only distillery on Islay that i have had fewer than 8 expressions. Very good whisky, enjoyable and complex; delicious. My score for it is 87 over 100.

Sweet, vanilla, faint raspberry, some spicyness and white pepper on the back of the tongue. Tastes quite young. Not a smooth dram, but interesting.

Less peated but still influenced by the sea salt from Islay. Very smooth and easy to drink. Still a long way from Sherry cask whiskeys. My favorite Islay Scotch.