BruichLaddich Islay "The Rocks" Whisky - A Brief Review

[Ru4scuba?]

All,

As promised, I cracked my bottle of BL Islay's "The Rocks" tonight (thanks for the tip Lou!)

As it turns out, this is quite a Whisky.

The bottle describes it as: " Master Distiller Jim McEwan, inspired by his native island's rugged, yet beautiful scenery, has created "Rocks" from a range of contrasting cask types and ages to provide wave after wave of compelling citrus and red berry fruit, fresh sea breeze and subtle peat smoke flavors."

I read this to mean...he mixed a lot of stuff together...and when you taste it, thats exactly what you get.

First off, the smell is rather light and sweet. If you're a bit experienced, you'll get a bit of honey or sweet scent. So, you dive in for a sip thinking this will be a lighter whisky and YOW! :eek: It is definitely called "Rocks" for a reason...not light on taste at all.

My first impression was that it was a bit brash. It has a very in your face taste and the peat only comes out at the very end. It was a bit difficult to discern at first, but after sip three, I could sense the peat in there. Definitely not like the other BruichLaddich "Peat" varieties Lou talked about last week and not like Ardbeg or Laphroaig. Much milder smoke in this one. The rest is all rough and tumble berries and citrus, just like Jim McEwan stated...not bad at all.

All in all, for me personally this is about an 8 out of 10...but, as always YMMV!

[Obsessed]

I've never had any Bruichladdich whisky, but am I the only one who finds it a bit irritating that they call themselves "the sophisticated Islay single malt"? First of all, if you have to say you're sophisticated, you're probably not, and second of all, what's the point of implying that other Islay whiskies (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, etc.) are "unsophisticated"?

[Ru4scuba?]

LOL...good point! I didn't find it "better" than Laphroaig, Lagavulin or Ardbeg...but I wont kick it off my whisky counter!

[DunEdinRanger]

I've never had any Bruichladdich whisky, but am I the only one who finds it a bit irritating that they call themselves "the sophisticated Islay single malt"? First of all, if you have to say you're sophisticated, you're probably not, and second of all, what's the point of implying that other Islay whiskies (Laphroaig, Lagavulin, Ardbeg, etc.) are "unsophisticated"?

I think that is their tongue in cheek humor. We're talking about the folks who once got a call from a DOD agent telling them one of the webcams was down. Turns out they were being monitored for possible WMD - Weapons of Mass Destruction, so they produced a WMD -whisky, a Whisky of Mass Distinction.

And when a Royal Navy mini yellow submarine washed ashore on Islay - and by the way it is pronounced Eye-Lah, they quickly produced one called Yellow Submarine. :biggrin:

I just got back from shoveling snow and was going to have a wee dram of Talisker, but now I think it will be Rocks.

[Trius]

I think that is their tongue in cheek humor. We're talking about the folks who once got a call from a DOD agent telling them one of the webcams was down. Turns out they were being monitored for possible WMD - Weapons of Mass Destruction, so they produced a WMD -whisky, a Whisky of Mass Distinction.

And when a Royal Navy mini yellow submarine washed ashore on Islay - and by the way it is pronounced Eye-Lah, they quickly produced one called Yellow Submarine. :biggrin:

I just got back from shoveling snow and was going to have a wee dram of Talisker, but now I think it will be Rocks.

I have always wanted to try Bruichladdich malts, now I know why. Those dudes rock! If nothing else we need to support a great sense of humour in the face of World Madness Disorders!

[DunEdinRanger]

I had Rocks when I was on Islay and it was great. Having it again after shoveling snow brought back all those memories, and as Scuba pointed out it is a fine, fine, dram!

[drunkentester]

Hey Lou,

Since you've been to the Bruichladdich Academy and have a love for Islay malts, have you ever considering buying one of the Bruichladdich casks offered to the public?

--Dennis

[DunEdinRanger]

Hey Lou,

Since you've been to the Bruichladdich Academy and have a love for Islay malts, have you ever considering buying one of the Bruichladdich casks offered to the public?

--Dennis

I have, but always wanted someone else to go in on it with me. I really wish I had bought Octomore when production first started :mad2:

[Ru4scuba?]

How much does a cask run? Is this something SWMBO is going get upset about?

Granted...I just dropped $2K on truck repairs, so I might be in the need of a dram or two!

[drunkentester]

Lou,

I hear you on the cask. I got the mailer from Bruichladdich on the Port Charlotte offers, and was so tempted to finally pull the trigger.

Chris, a cask will run either 1250 pounds for a fresh bourbon barrel or 1550 for a Rivesaltes Wine Cask. The difference between the two (besides being previously filled with wine versus bourbon) is 25 bulk liters of fresh make. Also, the cost includes 10 years of storage at the bruichladdich warehouse.

I was tempted to post something here to see if people are willing to go in on a B&B cask together, but I don't know if Bruichladdich allows that and whether a group of strangers bound purely by the love of shaving and a forum would keep in touch with each other for 10 years.

But given the historic lows of the pound versus the dollar right now, I'm think this may be the last year I can honestly consider doing a cask. I'm mean, given high of $1.93 to the pound, it's like getting a 23% discount.

I'm always around if you want to go in on half with a stranger, Lou. :biggrin:

--Dennis

[Obsessed]

I think that is their tongue in cheek humor.

Maybe you're right. Who would have thought of combining alcohol and humor?

[DunEdinRanger]

I think Bruichladdich does allow for group ownership. I'm willing to go in with a group. Then we can all go to Islay and visit our Cask. :biggrin:


Lou,

I hear you on the cask. I got the mailer from Bruichladdich on the Port Charlotte offers, and was so tempted to finally pull the trigger.

Chris, a cask will run either 1250 pounds for a fresh bourbon barrel or 1550 for a Rivesaltes Wine Cask. The difference between the two (besides being previously filled with wine versus bourbon) is 25 bulk liters of fresh make. Also, the cost includes 10 years of storage at the bruichladdich warehouse.

I was tempted to post something here to see if people are willing to go in on a B&B cask together, but I don't know if Bruichladdich allows that and whether a group of strangers bound purely by the love of shaving and a forum would keep in touch with each other for 10 years.

But given the historic lows of the pound versus the dollar right now, I'm think this may be the last year I can honestly consider doing a cask. I'm mean, given high of $1.93 to the pound, it's like getting a 23% discount.

I'm always around if you want to go in on half with a stranger, Lou. :biggrin:

--Dennis

[Ru4scuba?]

Hmmm...how many folks do you think we could get for a group?

[drunkentester]

Well, given the current exchange rate with the pound, a 225 liter cask will run about $2325. I can honestly say that I'd be good for $600 of that. Again, it just gets delicate when the 10 year is up and people will have to decide whether to bottle or pay for additional storage (with added fees).

Don't forget, there is a bottling and tax fees when the owners decide to "cash in" on their cask. Then there's the little issue of importing it back to the states.

I'm still game.... :001_smile

[DunEdinRanger]

There's also the possibility of buying a case which I think was something like 12 bottles? I will have to check the website.

[DunEdinRanger]

http://www.laddieshop.com/acatalog/Futures.html

This may be much more manageable.

[Ru4scuba?]

The mixed case looks very appealing. We need to find a fourth!

[ginantonix]

Oh, so many points so far that I just have to respond to.. I love the Bruichladdich guys! Absolutely great sense of humour, and really committed to their community. They hire people with special needs in the shipping area to give them a job, then weigh each flat of cases to make sure none of the tins were packed without a bottle. I also love any independent company that will thumb their noses a little bit at the Scotch Whisky Association and their insane rules.

One of the sister companies to Bruichladdich (along with the Renegade Rum company) is Murray McDavid. Each tin and bottle carries the logo of a terrier, with the motto 'Clachan a' Coin' - literally, the dog's balls. Gotta love it!

I have shares in a few casks, and we are just in the process of bottling our first - a cask of Arran, which has been maturing in the Springbank warehouses in Campbelltown, and was just bottled by Bruichladdich. The independent guys seem to co-operate very well together, with a common goal of resisting the pressures of the multinationals. Yes, there are a lot of fees and extras when your cask 'comes due.'

Going in as a group makes a lot of sense, not only to split some of the fees but also, who can go through that many bottles of the same whisky? A big part of the joy of single malts is in the variety.

Oh yes, and Octomore. I had a glass last night. Very interesting, but really a bit odd. It was one of the drams for our Single Malt Club, and I honestly had no idea how to score it. The nose and taste were not balanced, but there were a lot of notes in there - just a little discordant. It may improve as the first casks age, mind you - a little more time for the wood to cool the smoke and allow some of the other flavours to come to prominence. It is presently available as a 5-year old. At the very least, I admire the spirit behind the experiment.

Okay, I've said enough.

[Ru4scuba?]

Just having another dram of "Rocks" and went to review this thread...the more I hear about Bruichladdich, the more I want to give them some money. They sound like a group I'm willing to support!

Between the humor, community committment, the special needs support or the thumbing of noses at Scotch Whiskey Assoc....sounds like Bruichladdich is DEFINITELY my #1 next distillery to visit!