Bruichladdich Port Charlotte Rock’ndaal 02.2 Review
Our first ever review of the Rock’ndaal series from Bruichladdich was the Bruichladdich Rock’ndaal 01.2. The 01.2 release was a blend of Bruichladdich’s Port Charlotte and Octomore whiskies that was matured in wine and sherry casks. It left me wondering if it would give a nice preview of this year’s Rock’ndaal 02.2 whisky, which is Port Charlotte whisky matured in wine and sherry casks.
We do get a nice piece of information this time that was not offered with the 01.2 release, which is an age statement. The Rock’ndaal 02.2 was aged 16 years in refill wine and sherry casks. Whether these whiskies were blended or matured for a certain amount of time in each cask is not mentioned. What kind of wine and sherry were used are not mentioned either.
The Rock’ndaal 02.2 whisky is one of three whiskies released for Feis Ile 2023 by Bruichladdich. The others are the Rock’ndaal 02.1 and the 2004 18 Year Old Rock'ndaal Feis Ile 2023. I wanted to try this whisky since it was the only one that made it clear it was a peated whisky.
I expected the Rock’ndaal 01.2 to have a stronger smoky taste since it included Octomore whisky as part of the blend, but it was by no means a very peaty whisky. My guess is this release will be even less peaty, so it just comes down to a question of how strong the wine and sherry flavors show up in the whisky. Hopefully the highlight of Rock’ndaal 02.2 ends up being really nice sweet flavors since Port Charlotte whisky has always left me wanting a bit more smoke.
The Basics
Aged: 16 years
Bottles available: 2,500
Casks: Wine, sherry
ABV: 50%
Color: Amber
Nose: Powdered sugar, jam, pastry, wood
Cost: $263 (auction fees and shipping were $60)
Purchased at: Scotch Whisky Auctions (Auction 145)
Taste
The first taste has strawberry and caramel flavors followed by raisins and cinnamon. It finishes with more raisin and cinnamon along with light smoke and some cherry flavor on the tongue after. There is very little burning of any kind from the alcohol.
Neat or With Water
I found drinking this whisky with water removed some of the fruity flavors from the whisky (e.g. strawberry and cherry). You get much more caramel on the initial sip with water. I personally preferred this whisky neat as it is sweeter and offers more flavor, but both options were still very enjoyable. Play around the amount of water and see what works for you.
Summary
Accessibility: Your best bet for finding this whisky is in whisky auctions. Only 2,500 bottles were made available, so finding it through stores or online retailers is unlikely. However, I would expect it will continue to be available in future auctions for a while.
Price: The retail price for this whisky was about $210. If you factor in shipping to the United States, $263 does not feel like an enormous overpay from my point of view. In the recent auction I participated in for this whisky, it sold for about $200 without auction fees and shipping costs factored in.
Quality: This whisky offers a combination of many sweet flavors. It lacks a strong peaty punch, but it is light, transitions between flavors well, and does not have a strong alcohol burn. I found the fruity, pastry flavors this whisky presented to be very unique, and feel it is one that is not hard to appreciate.
Score: 7/10 (See our scoring system explanation)
This whisky does feel very similar to the Rock’ndaal 01.2 release. The 01.2 release has a stronger taste of caramel and is a bit heavier. The 02.2 release has stronger fruit flavors and is a bit lighter, but has a fair amount of overlap in flavor profile with its predecessor.
You won’t go wrong if you have to choose between the two. It just comes down to your personal flavor preferences, but for both the tastes of caramel, raisins, cinnamon, and a nice peaty finish are present.
At roughly $200, the price of this whisky feels a bit high. I definitely feel like there are more economical choices that offer a similar flavor profile. If Bruichladdich continues the Rock’ndaal series with this same kind of whisky next year, I would rather wait until next year rather than getting another bottle of the Rock’ndaal 02.2. If you enjoyed the 01.2 release, you will not be disappointed with this year’s bottle though. I hope the Rock’ndaal 03.2 will continue to get better in the years to come, and I look forward to trying.