Hmmm...

It looks like we got out of sync.
Reload your page to freshen up and ensure that you get the best experience.

  • Skip to navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Join Distiller

Take your spirits journey to the next level when you create an account. Once you sign in you can...

  • Rate Bottles

  • Add Your Notes

  • Save To My Top Shelf

Create Account

Already have an account? Sign in

Enjoy our full-featured list experience in the
free distiller app

  • Create your own lists
  • Find spirits on the go
  • Easily search thousands of products
  • Follow friends and see what they're drinking
  • Track your collection with unlimited notes and bottle quantities PRO
Download Now No Thanks

Enjoy our full-featured list experience in the
free distiller app

  • Create your own lists
  • Find spirits on the go
  • Easily search thousands of products
  • Follow friends and see what they're drinking
  • Track your collection with unlimited notes and bottle quantities
    PRO

GET IT NOW:

If you want to add an image with your reviews install the app.

GET IT NOW:

Distiller.com uses cookies that are essential for us to operate the website and that are helpful for us to improve the services. By continuing to browse our website, you agree to first-party and third-party cookies being stored on your device. Learn More About Cookies
Search
Distiller Home
  • Search
  • Find People
  • Join Pro
  • Recommend
  • Articles
  • Sign In
  • Register
  • Search
  • Find People
  • About Distiller
  • The Tasting Table
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Jobs
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Home

Smokehead Rum Rebel

Peated Single Malt

Smokehead // Islay, Scotland

  • Details
  • 42 Reviews
    Filter
    Sort
    • DrRHCMadden

      Reviewed March 4, 2023
      2.75
      2.75 out of 5 stars
      The last of the three pack and for that matter of the easily accessible Smokeheads. A middling run ending on a revisit to something I last tried on the 26th June 2022 (Original review down below). I remember being perfectly happy sipping on this last year but, let’s revisit… N: Definitively younger than I remember. Islay smoke is obvious and upfront, but the spirit, slightly burning ethanol presence brings with it bright and zesty pineapple. There is also some toffee here that I don’t recall and some ashy-vegetals. Less rubber than the Smokehead Original and none of the metallic-mineral heavy notes I picked up in the high voltage. A different, and somewhat less characterful nose than the regular cask offerings. P: Straight in with a fruit juice texture that is a little thin but with some oiliness. Turns quickly to rubbery peat smoke, ashiness akin the original. Definite brininess that trends towards cured meat, but I don’t get quite as clear bacon flavour as I noted before (this is not Talisker). Fruit develops with time, but its not well developed it heads in a bright and fresh direction but stops short at cheap tropical fruit juice and cola bottle sweets. Salt and ash are the take aways here. F: Long, warming pepper staying away from chilli heat. Feels slightly waxy with a little light vanilla and orange and a pleasant cool smoke. OK. Smokehead, fair name for this bottling. The smoke, its there. The Rum Rebel part, not so much. It tries to get going, but falls short. I feel like the whisky was told stories about what rum is like and was asked to make a counterfeit copy. It’s lack lustre and detracts from the good elements. I stand by the notion that this is pleasant enough to sip on, but its forgettable and lacks a unifying quality to tie the different threads together. Smokehead overall is perfectly fine. It has a definite target market, and I’m certain that the appeal is there. But for me, across the board, there are better or cheaper alternatives that easily surpass these. Worth a try, and I might even get one in a bar depending where I am. Would I buy a bottle though? No. [Pictured here with another skull for a skull branded whisky. Strap in… your’e getting a long story here: meet ‘Peking Man’ a composite representing some forty individuals from a collection of 200 H0mo erectus pekinesis bones dating back 680,000-780,000 years. The bones were excavated from Zhoukoudian cave, China during the 1920’s to 1930’s, and were well studied with many casts being taken. Alongside the H. erectus bones were findings of animal remains and strong evidence for the use of fire and tools. Evidence was also found for the first time of hominids manufacturing their own tools. In 1941 during the Japanese encroachment into China during World War II, a Chinese official, Hu Chengzi packaged the Peking Man collection up to send to the USA for secure housing. The bones were loaded onto a U.S. Marine transport ship but, the bones never arrived. Hu to this date was the last person to see these fossils, which are amongst the most important paleontological finds in history. Their huge importance is not to be understated, Peking Man may be instrumental for developing our understanding of early cannibalism by our ancestors (due to the nature of the fossil find), the origins of speech and language, use of fire and manufacturing of tools. Luckily though the original casts are still yielding some new information. The search for the fossils is currently settling on a Chinese shopping centre parking lot and if recovered would allow modern forensic approaches to look deeper into the origins of humanity from the worlds 'oldest' missing person case.] Smokehead running scores: Smokehead Single Malt: 3/5 Smokehead High Voltage: 3.5/5 Smokehead Rum Rebel: 2.75 *** Original review 26th of June 2022 N: Islay peat is undeniable, some iodine and fresh seaweed, chargrilled pineapple. P: savoury. Bacon and darkness. Thick caramel stickyness. Salty brine. F: prickly but long. Waxy with light vanilla notes and residual wafts of smoke. Flavours are perhaps punctuated and not well rounded/balanced but perfectly enjoyable. If on offer/discount would be a pleasant everyday smoky sipper. 3/5 Distiller whisky taste #32
      106.99 AUD per Bottle
      • Ctrexman
      • soonershrink
      • pkingmartin
      • jdriip
      • Scott_E
      • cascode
      Show Comments ( 2 )   for DrRHCMadden's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • commanderk

      Reviewed January 28, 2023
      3.5
      3.5 out of 5 stars
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for commanderk's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • J_G

      Reviewed January 28, 2023
      3.75
      3.75 out of 5 stars
      Semi-blind tasting with kilkerran 12 and machrie moor 10. This one has strong smoke flavor. Nose picks up all kind of stuff that i can't describe (probable the rum cask), but very delicate, it comes and goes. Very easy to drink, at least for me, could be a daily sipper. Best taste of the 3.
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for J_G's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • GoodSpiritsNews

      Reviewed January 6, 2023
      3.75
      3.75 out of 5 stars
      The rum character is there, but at a much lower level than how the sherry expression fared. The effect adds some bass notes to the whisky, along with spice and some tingling heat. Somehow the peat fights with the rum and creeates a tension that while not unpleasant, doesn’t add to the whisky’s appeal.
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for GoodSpiritsNews's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

      Remove ads, get access to premium features, and more with
      Distiller Pro

    • Chris-Lowe

      Reviewed December 30, 2022
      3.5
      3.5 out of 5 stars
      Peaty
      Smoky
      Spicy
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for Chris-Lowe's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • Cameron_Wayman

      Reviewed December 29, 2022
      2.75
      2.75 out of 5 stars
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for Cameron_Wayman's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • Billsp

      Reviewed December 19, 2022
      3.5
      3.5 out of 5 stars
      Smoky
      Vanilla
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for Billsp's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • Jose-Massu-Espinel

      Reviewed November 3, 2022
      4.0
      4.0 out of 5 stars
      The now famous brand of islay single malt, Smokehead, has released yet another expression, now called "Rum Rebels" since it has been matured in ex caribbean rum casks. Smokehead sources its whisky from a secret islay malt that i can bet my life is Caol Ila. Botlled at 46%abv, with a golden color. On the nose, it starts with a "rumy" molasses note. Bacon, glazed pork and aniseed. On the palate, there is a mixture of molasses an new wood. Quince notes. Aftertaste, is peaty, developing nice flavors. Plastic, Velcro and Sawdust. So weird but good. Overall, this is the most average whisky ever. It is not impressive nor bad. I have no problem with it, since you are getting your money's worth for $50. A little boring, a little simple, but still manages to pass the test. My score for it is 80/100.
      • cascode
      • DrRHCMadden
      • soonershrink
      • ctbeck11
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for Jose-Massu-Espinel's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • Gherch

      Reviewed October 29, 2022
      2.5
      2.5 out of 5 stars
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for Gherch's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    • J_G

      Reviewed October 19, 2022
      3.5
      3.5 out of 5 stars
      Show Comments ( 0 )   for J_G's review of Smokehead Rum Rebel
    Results 1-10 of 42 Reviews
    1 2 3 … Next › Last »
ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

Remove ads, get access to premium features, and more with
Distiller Pro

You may also like

  • Finlaggan Cask Strength Islay Single Malt

    more floral
  • ADVERTISEMENT - CONTINUE READING BELOW

    Remove ads, get access to premium features, and more with
    Distiller Pro

  • Smokehead High Voltage

    more floral
  • Rock Island 10 Year

    more floral

Remove ads, get access to premium features, and more with
Distiller Pro

Create And Manage Custom Lists In The
Free Distiller App

Add spirit to:

Create And Manage Custom Lists In The
Free Distiller App

  • Create your own custom lists
  • Search spirits on the go
  • Easily search thousands of products
  • Follow friends and see what they're drinking
Get it now
Add spirit to:

Sign up for the Distiller Newsletter

Follow Us
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Download The App
To learn more about responsible consumption, please visit Foundation For Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.
  • Terms Of Service. ™/© 2023 Distiller
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Submit For Review
  • Jobs
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Review this
  • About Distiller
  • The Tasting Table
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Submit For Review
  • Jobs
  • Help
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Service. ™/© 2023 Distiller
Follow Us
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
Newsletter
Sign up for the Distiller Newsletter for new bottle & feature updates
To learn more about responsible consumption, please visit Foundation For Advancing Alcohol Responsibility.