Bottled 2017. This is technically discontinued. The geniuses from marketing decided “Rock Oyster” is an unpalatable name for a whisky. Henceforth Rock Island. Shame. Rock Oyster was the perfect name for this whisky. I get rocks – a lovely minerality; an epiphany of brine and barnacles. I get oysters – sweet pacific oysters, a paradoxical enigma of creamy zinc metal. I also get a lot of maltiness and a clean smoke – not the black coal plant fumes that power Ardbeg; but the white nuclear plant steam that powers, perhaps, Arran? This is a young whisky. Most of this blend is probably somewhere in the 3-6 year range. This is memorable for how much damp sawdust, metal, and banana flavors that generally make me skeptical of young whiskies, but it works very well in Rock Oyster. Probably, there is a touch of older whisky for balance. Even more probably, I have fallen for the packaging, the theme, and the spine to name a whisky “Rock Oyster.” The only problem I have with this whisky is that I don’t feel like it all the time. When I am in the mood for something rich and indulgent, this is anathema. But when I am in the mood for something barren and battered to match the mood after the holidays, nothing quite satisfies like this pearl. Score: * (unforgettably good) How much does a bottle cost: $55-70 How much do I think a bottle is worth: $75