Black Bull 12yo Deluxe Blended Scotch Whisky

/ / Review, Scottish Whisky /

The good folks at Duncan Taylor were kind enough to send us this sample of Black Bull 12yo.  After trying the 30yo some time ago, Matt was especially eager to try this one.  Richard has not had the pleasure of either yet.  We’ll update the post with his notes soon.

Black Bull 12yo Deluxe Blended Scotch Whisky
50% ABV/100 Proof
£32.99, Available Now In The UK & Soon In The US (we’ll update the price to US dollars when we have it)

What The Distillery Says:
This special blend is a marriage of the finest 12 year old single malt and single grain whiskies distilled in Scotland.  The selection of whiskies falls true to the Duncan Taylor ethic of unbridled quality, each whisky from each cask is nose and tasted before going into the Black Bull vatting.

Black Bull contains 50% malt whisky and 50% grain whisky and is non-chill filtered.

What Matt Says:
Nose: Without water, the nose is very “grainy.”  It’s quite a bit like a pot stilled rye with a few light notes of dark fruit.  With water, the nose opens up to beautiful florals and notes of citrus, orange blossom honey, and cacao nibs.
Palate: Again, the grain is dominant without water.  The palate is dry and spicy with a citrus tang.  Water makes the palate much more Scotch-like.  Flavors of dark fruits, caramel apples (green ones), and oak come out to play.
Finish: Without water, the finish is almost like whisky bitters.  The lingering flavors are oak, bitters, and orange zest.  Water brings out pears, pomegranate, and dark chocolate.
Comments: This is an interesting sensory experience.  I’ve never tasted a whisky that changed quite this much with water.  It might as well be straight grain whisky without water.  With water, Black Bull 12yo turns into a suitable entry-level whisky.  Strangely, the finish is much more bold and interesting than the palate; an about face compared to our Gateway Series Scotches.  A while back, I had the opportunity to sample the 30yo: a fine dram indeed.  While this does not come close to the 30yo (not that anyone expects a challenge), the Black Bull 12yo is fine blend and worthy of a tipple. The finish alone is worth a try.
Rating:  Average

What Richard Says:
Nose: Fruit and old unpolished wood with hints of candied orange slices.  It turns floral and grainy with water.
Palate: Very spicy with hints of apple peel.  With water it quickly mellows the spice and turns to floral notes with a minute sweetness.
Finish: Very dry and oaky.  Water smoothes out the finish nicley and adds lingering apple peel again but I don’t get the same dramatic changes that Matt does.
Comments: This is a very dry whisky.  More so than any I’ve had in recent memory.  It’s interesting for sure and definitely one to have with some water.
Rating: Average

Overall Rating:  Average.  Strongly consider adding water to this one.

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New U.S. Releases – November ’09

/ / Scottish Whisky

After being inundated with new releases the last few month, especially in the bourbon category, November was pretty sad. Really the only news I have was the announcement that Glen Grant will be shipping to the U.S. beginning in January 2010. I don’t have the details on which bottlings or suggested prices but the current range consists of a single malt with no age statement, a 10 year old, and a 15 year old so hopefully we will see all of those in the new year. What I’ve heard so far is that initially they will be focusing on New York, Florida, Texas, Illinois, and California.

If anyone has heard about anything that I may have missed then let me know.

Drink wisely my friends,

Richard

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A Thanksgiving Tip and Find

/ / Bourbon, Matt's Blog

It’s Thanksgiving Day here in the U.S. and I’m spending it with the In-Laws.  I’ll make this short since I should be in the kitchen.  My wife is feeling adventurous and  is making a pumpkin pie and bourbon pecan pie completely from scratch.  She is using a Paula Dean recipe.  A word of warning though.  The recipe on the site says “2 tablespoons good quality bourbon.”  In the cook book, one of the tablespoons is for the cook.  If you use both in the pie, it will not set properly and you will have a runny pie on your hands.  Becky is using Basil Hayden’s for the pie this year (based on Richard’s suggestion).  We’ve used Buffalo Trace and Four Roses Single Barrel at various times.  We’ll see if it makes a difference.

While rummaging through my In-Laws liquor cabinet, I found a strange little bottle of bourbon.  It’s labeled “Walker’s DeLuxe Straight Bourbon Whiskey – Aged 8 Years”.  The strangest part of the label though is where it is distilled:  Peoria, Illinois.  I found a somewhat useful thread on straightbourbon.com.  It seems that the Peoria distillery closed in 1979.  The whiskey is still pretty good.  It’s a little sweet and some of the alcohol has evaporated, but it is very drinkable.  All around, a nice find.

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving everyone.

-Matt

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‘Green’ Distilling Under Fire In Scotland

/ / Matt's Blog, Scottish Whisky

Whisky Magazine just released an article discussing a conundrum within Scottish whisky.  There are new regulations before British Parliament that will change the definition of ‘Scotch malt whisky.’  Part of these regulations, set to go into effect November 23, requires malt whisky to be produced using copper pot stills.  It would seem like a no-brainer.  After all, tradition states that single malts are produced in pot stills and column stills are reserved for ‘lesser’ grain alcohols used in blends.  However, Loch Lomond distillery outside of Glasgow produces whisky using an energy efficient still instead of a traditional pot still.  According to the new regulations, whisky distilled at Loch Lomond will no longer be able to bear the title ‘Scotch malt whisky’.

Presumably, these regulations are to protect consumers and distillers alike from dubious producers (at home and abroad) using inferior products to undermine the Scottish whisky industry.  Loch Lomond produces a whisky much loved by Jim Murray. So, one can assume that the energy efficient still produces quality whisky. Murray even implies that the whisky has improved in quality since upgrading the still around two years ago.  Should one of the most energy efficient distilleries in Scotland be marginalized for environmental concern?  Is tradition and protectionism more important than carbon footprint regardless of product quality?  Furthermore, would allowing Loch Lomond to continue using the ‘Scotch malt whisky’ label open the floodgates allowing all sorts of still configurations?

These are all tough questions.  Quality does not seem to be the issue for Loch Lomond.  So, in this case, it seems like harnessing the industry with the yoke of tradition.  Quite a heavy yoke at that.  But, can we apply regulations by situation.  That seems rather random and unfair.  In my experience, I have preferred pot stilled whiskies and whiskeys around 70% of the time (the major exceptions being mainly American whiskeys).  That leads me to side with the ‘tradition’ side, but the crunchy hippy in me is livid that anyone should be punished for trying to green-up their production process.  Ultimately, I’m all for quality control.  However, I’m not sure this is the way to go.  Anybody else have thoughts on this?

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