Smokehead Rum Rebel

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

Review #049 Type: single malt scotch Proof: 49% Comments: NAS, finished in Caribbean rum casks, from an undisclosed Islay distillery Tasted after: first up Appearance (no score): Tawny color. Swirling reveals a thin line sticking to the side of the glass, legs are slow to form. Nose: 16/20 Really enjoyable, savory and sweet, full to dripping and sizzling smoked meat, also brown sugar and vanilla, with hints of charcoal and some citrus in the background, like someone cutting up tropical fruits next to the smoker. Palate: 25/40 A little mellow on the palate, moderately sweet molasses mixing with sooty smoke and very salty bacon. Maybe some caramel too… make that salted caramel to help account for the salt-forward flavor. Mouthfeel is also noticeably thin. Finish: 28/40 Medium length. There’s a moment where it becomes a little lighter and sweeter with grilled pineapple and honeycomb, but it’s brief and gives way to bitter ashes and black pepper. It’s not an unpleasant ride, and ends with a peculiar and mildly sweet smoked coconut aftertaste, which I rather like and think may be one of the highlights. With Water: A couple drops of water opens up the nose to big vanilla notes, also getting past the smoke to find some nutty banana bread in there. That hint of coconut on the finish is also a little more evident. Total: 69/100 Final thoughts: I wanted to enjoy this bottle so much more than I actually did. It’s fine but I’d struggle to drink a second dram of it in one sitting and I won’t be buying another bottle once this one is gone. I’ve read a number of comments online from people who claim they have the “inside scoop” that this is Ardbeg, but I’m unsure that Ardbeg (owned by Louis Vuitton) would sell casks of their whisky to an IB in any volume. I also don’t see a strong correlation here between this dram and Ardbeg Drum based on my recollection of that spirit, but suppose a side-by-side comparison is in order now! Price: £45 Would recommend: no Would buy: no Scoring Legend: 96-100: The perfect dram, absolutely exceptional, nectar of the gods, I will savor this bottle and make it last, 5 stars. 90-95: Near perfect, there is something truly special about this whisky, 4.75 stars. 85-89: Very good to amazing, almost the complete product, 4.5 stars. 80-84: Quite good, very enjoyable to drink, but doesn’t wow me, 4.25 stars. 75-79: Good, enjoyable but ultimately flawed, unlikely to purchase again, 4 stars. 70-74: A solid dram, but wouldn't go out of my way to get it, 3.75 stars. 55-69: Drinkable, 3.5-2.75 stars. Below 55: Suitable for cooking or direct contribution to the kitchen sink drain, 2.5 stars or less.

Gifted this bottle by company owner ( awesome guy). Ok yeah I get it... another Nas Islay scotch, especially an unknown distiller with a hokey marketing scheme. We are tired of these knockoffs trying to compete with our beloved smoke monsters. I am not familiar with Smokehead offerings as this is my first but have to admit Im very impressed. I was concerned about a rum finished peated scotch after the total soapfest of GD Fire/Cane which was absolutely horrible imo. This however brings it with strong flavor delivery and no tide pods to be found. Im pretty sure this is Ardbeg ranging 6-9 yrs. Its not as volatile as Wee Beastie but a tick down from 10 yr refinement. The rum finish covers a lot of flaws and elevates this until the price sinks in. Nice robust smoky nose with powdered sugar sprinkled pastry and a touch of menthol. Palate is sizzling thick cut bacon glazed with brown sugar, oak tannins with smoky char and salty malt. Its a bit bright but flavors are deep. Finish is classic Islay with love you longtime smoke and cooling malt with an extra kick of sweet pastry dough. The barrel finishing here really adds to the experience in a positive way and this is (as most Islay's) highly enjoyable. The only problem I see is its around 80 bucks. As famously stated in Used Cars "That's too fuckin high" I can get Oogie or Corry for less in addition to many other age stated peated delicacies. Still this is quite tasty just overpriced........86/100

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.

Very disappointing. No smoke, no peat. Very hot pokey alcohol, but no peat no smoke. Lots of butter, caramel, marshmallow and rum. Quite disappointing actually - especially for the price. This is definitely an overpriced bottle. It’s nice enough but hardly a flag bearer for Islay. I have cut it with some water and it opened it up and significantly. But still not nearly as Smokey and Peaty as I’d like.

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.