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Bruichladdich Rocks

Earthy Rollercoaster

0 873

@VictorReview by @Victor

20th Oct 2012

0

Bruichladdich Rocks
  • Nose
    19
  • Taste
    19
  • Finish
    18
  • Balance
    17
  • Overall
    73

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Distribution of ratings for this: brand user

Thanks to @MarsViolet for the reviewed sample.

Nose: acrid citric antiseptic, like strong mouth wash, a little sour, brine, followed by malt and actually a bit of perfume of roses, which seems strangely out of place with the other flavours. Hints of old leather and a bit of wet hay. Any peat or smoke in the nose is quite mild. Overall, odd, and not too pleasant. Additional air morphs this into a slightly floral grassy maltiness, better than at first. Water brings out the wine flavours and subdues the weirdness. With ice, citrus seems to dominate the nose

Taste: sweet; brine springs forth in strong evidence, leather and grass remain, peat is much more noticeable on the palate than in the nose. A strong and deep unrefined fruitiness, like marc, asserts itself, seeming to be from wine maturation. The flavours are strong but not refined. This is a hearty sort of beverage. Water once again brings out wine and malt. Reasonably pleasant this way. With ice, deep wine and wood flavours become strongest

Finish: rather long, sour, and finishes on wine and malt. With water, the wine flavours do a slow fade out. With ice, there is a combination of a little citrus, a little grass, a little malt, and a little wine

Balance: Bruichladdich Rocks is an entertaining chameleon. It is also quite unrefined, albeit hearty. "Balance" is not a word I would use to describe these odd, multiple, and morphing flavours

You can certainly enjoy this malt, but in order to do so you have to be in the mood to ride an earthy unrefined rollercoaster

OR, you could just nail down its manifestation by drinking it with water, or, alternately, with ice

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8 comments

@Victor
Victor commented

NB Bruichladdich Rocks is officially labeled 'Unpeated Malt', but it still tastes of peat to me.

12 years ago 0

@Benancio
Benancio commented

@Victor, The water used for the mash is heavily peated, almost brown. The water used to cut the ABV down, is Spring water. The malt is unpeated though.

I found that I was trying to make myself like this scotch. Fair score you gave it.

12 years ago 0

@Victor
Victor commented

Thank you, @Bernancio. I did in fact suspect that the peat flavour that I was tasting came from peated water. It seems bizarre to me to describe a whisky made from heavily peated water as being "unpeated whisky".

I can be in the mood to drink a 73 rated whisky once in a while, just not too often. For me, Bruichladdich Rocks is just curious enough to taste that a person can come to drink it occasionally out of curiosity, alone.

12 years ago 0

@Benancio
Benancio commented

@Victor, You hit the nail on the head with "Earthy". With what’s put into the cast (60% is alcohol) and (40% is the peated mash water) the earth is not hard to find.

Peat from smoking the malted barley has a much more palatable flavor to me. That’s lots of chemistry going on in that peat smoke.

I wonder is Coal ila uses both, it’s the most heavily peated scotch I’ve ever tasted.

12 years ago 0

@GregLogan
GregLogan commented

So far I am regretting my purchase....fortunately it was not expensive.

10 years ago 0

@FMichael
FMichael commented

My 1st bottle of Bruichladdich was Rocks which I enjoyed, and led me on to trying the Laddie 10 which I enjoy even more.

I'm honesty surprised to see some here not enjoying the Rocks, but then again - I'm one of the few here who don't think very highly of the Uigeadail.

10 years ago 0

@talexander
talexander commented

Haven't tried it yet, but I did like their "Peat" expression. Generally though, I'm not a fan of Bruichladdich. I do enjoy most Port Charlottes and Octomores though.

10 years ago 0

@GregLogan
GregLogan commented

I gave it my ultra BLECH! rating - would not even drink and gave it away. Score of 52 on a 50 - 100 scale.

10 years ago 0