Bruichladdich Rocks Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Islay

Brand: Bruichladdich Rocks

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 5-7 Years

ABV: 46 %

Date: 11/01/2014

Colour: Golden with a light Reddish glow.

Nose: Young, still a bit Edgy and not overly Complicated. A combination of Sweet Barley, slightly Sour Red Grapes, Brown Sugar, light Peat, Bread Dough and a Pinch of Salt. After a while I also find traces of Nuts, Strawberry, light Oak, light Pepper, Honey and a Floral Flagrance. A very different type of Bruichladdich. I must admit I don't like it a whole lot. I'm not really a Red Wine Finish fan though there are certain exceptions to the rule like the Longrow 11 Red Cabernet Sauvignon.

Taste: Slightly Thin delivery despite the ABV of 46%. Quite Spicy with Pepper and Cinnamon. I also find Oak, Cereals, Brown Sugar, Vanilla and Red Fruit, mainly Grapes and Berries.

Finish: Middle-Long with Cereals, Red Fruit (Strawberry), quite a bit of Pepper, light Licorice and a pinch of Salt. 

With a bit of Water the Nose gets Extra Malt, Red Fruit and Honey. You get more Fruit on the Palate but it also becomes too thin. As usually I prefer to sip it neat. Unfortunately my sample wasn't sufficient to try out Rocks over Ice. 

Rating: 81.5

Nose: 20.5 - Taste: 20.5 - Finish: 20 - Overall: 20.5

General Remarks: The Bruichladdich distillery is located on the shore of Loch Indaal on the Rhinns of the isle of Islay. It was founded in 1881 by the Harvey Brothers and closed in 1994. In 2000 it was bought by a group of private investors (including Mark Reynier) and the whole distillery was dismantled and reassembled in 2001. It was sold in 2012 to Remy Cointreau. 

Rocks was released in 2007 and later incorporated in a trilogy with Waves and the peated Peat. Waves, Peat and the earlier expressions Infinity and Links were phased out in the beginning of 2012. Late 2013, Rocks was the last of the series to be discontinued. Rocks is not Chill-Filtered, not artificially coloured and designed to be taken over Ice. Rocks matured for 5-7 years in Ex-Bourbon Casks selected by Master-Distiller Jim McEwan. These casks were then vatted  and finally finished in French Red Wine (Syrah) Casks for an additional nine months or so. It was priced at between 40 and 50 US Dollars in late 2013.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good but not quite my style.

Conclusion: This is quite a different Bruichladdich. Only very light Peat and almost without any coastal influences. A little bit of Salt, that's all. Rocks is basically a combination of Cereals, Red Fruit (Grapes and Berries) and Spices (Pepper and Cinnamon). I don't find sufficient balance between these main flavour components. For sure this is not one of my favourite Bruichladdichs. But if you fancy this Flavour profile you should give it a go as Rocks may vanish from the Earth quite quickly! 

Jan van den Ende                                                          January 2014

Aberlour 1994 Review

Country: Scotland

Region: Speyside

Brand: Aberlour 1994 Carn Mor (Celebration of the Cask Series)

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age: 17 Years

Alcohol: 61.9%

Tasting Date: 09/01/2014

Colour: Yellow Gold

Nose: Give this Aberlour sufficient time to breathe. The Alcohol is quite strong of course given the high ABV. Cask # 4669 was a good one in my opinion. I find plenty of Wood Spice (mainly Cinnamon and Pepper) as well as Fine Oak and Espresso. I also get Malt, Toast, Honey, Dried Apricot, Nuts, Red Fruit and a lovely Apple-Pie with Raisins and warm Vanilla sauce. It's not a complicated Nose but quite compact and mature. A slightly lower ABV of around 50% would most likely have improved it even more.

Taste: Bitter-Sweet with Grapefruit, Mandarin, Papaya, Toffee, Honey, Oak, Mint, Nutmeg and Pepper. A light Alcohol sting.

Finish: Quite Long and Bitter-Sweet with Fresh Grapefruit Juice, Lemon, Mint, Pepper and Nutmeg. 

With a bit of Water the Alcohol retreats of course and the Fruit and Espresso become quite prominent on the Nose. On the Palate I find additional Tropical Fruit. You can, and probably should, experiment with a couple of drops at the time.  

Rating: 84

Nose: 22 – Taste: 21 – Finish: 20 – Overall: 21

General Remarks: The Aberlour Distillery was founded in 1826 and had to be reconstructed in 1879 after a huge fire. Today it is owned by Chivas Brothers Ltd, part of Pernod-Ricard from France. The Aberlour I am tasting today was distilled on June 14, 1994 and was bottled at Cask Strength on June 26, 2011 by Carn Mor. This Single Malt is Naturally Coloured, not Chill-Filtrated and matured in a Hogshead with Cask # 4669. Only 268 Bottles are/were available at around 110 US Dollars each. 

Drinking Experience Neat: Good, but not quite my style.

Conclusion: This is certainly an interesting Single Malt. I quite enjoyed the Nose. A nice balance between Wood Spice and (Dried) Fruit with lovely Notes of fresh Espresso and Apple Pie. A lower ABV would have benefited this Aberlour in my opinion. The Palate and the Finish however are Bitter-Sweet and even slightly Sour. And that's not my favourite flavour profile. Still, if you love Grape Fruit, this could be the perfect Whisky at your Saturday Morning Breakfast Table!

Jan van den Ende                                                          January 2014     

    The Mashtun in Aberlour

Arran 2004 Orkney Bere Review

Country: Scotland 

Region: Highland - Island - Arran

Brand: Arran 2004 Orkney Bere

Type: Single Malt Whisky

Age:  8 Years

ABV: 46 %

Date: 07/01/2013

Colour: Pale Straw/Light Gold

Nose: Young, Playful, Malty and Extremely Fruity with Sweet Creamy Barley, Banana, Pineapple, Pear, Honey, Heather, Straw, Vanilla, Lemon, light Spices and hints of Aniseed, Butter and Mint. The Distillery and the Barley rule. Only very light Cask influences. The Alcohol is not fully integrated.

Palate: Unexpectedly, the Cask influence is much stronger now. It's still Fruity (Apple) but now I find lots of Spices like Pepper, Cinnamon and Nutmeg. Also slightly Bitter Oak, Barley, Vanilla, Flowers, Toffee, Marzipan, light Licorice and a hint of Espresso.

Finish: Middle-Long, still Fruity and, again, surprisingly Spicy with Cereals, Toffee, Peach, Pineapple, Nut Shells, slightly Bitter Oak, Cinnamon and Pepper. 

With a bit of Water the Nose gets even more Cereals and Vanilla. On the Palate the Spices become too dominant in my opinion. Better sip it neat.  

Rating: 85

Nose: 22 - Taste: 21 - Finish: 21 - Overall: 21

General Remarks: Arran is a very young distillery and only started selling Single Malts in 1995. It's located on the Isle of Arran, off the Scottish West Coast. This Limited Edition (5800 Bottles) vintage Arran was distilled in 2004, matured in Ex-Bourbon Casks and was bottled at "Cask Strength" in 2012. No Chill-Filtration and only Natural Colours. It was distilled using Bere Barley, a very old type of Grain, grown on Orkney and used for centuries to make Whisky on the island. The use of Bere for Whisky distilling almost disappeared in the 20th Century and it's a great that Arran and the Orkney College brought back a bit of history. I hope it will not be a one time event! The 2004 will be difficult to get but it would sell at around 75 US Dollars if you can find it.

Drinking Experience Neat: Good

Conclusion: It's been a while since I nosed a Single Malt that was that Fruity. It is really remarkable. Apparently the Bere and the Arran Distillery Character go very well together. On the Palate and in the Finish however this seems to be an altogether different kind of Whisky. The Fruit is still there of course but lots of Spices leave their marks as well. Personally I would have loved to find a bit more balance between Fruit and Spices on the Palate. But that is a minor flaw of an otherwise very interesting Whisky. Try it out if you can find it!

Jan van den Ende                                                          January 2014