Black Bull 30 Year Old Blended Whisky 50%

Those good people at Duncan Taylor sent me a wee sample of there new bottling so I thought that I best try it. Hint hint to anyone else that would like to send me stuff please email me at petelamb1970@aol.co.uk Well you got to try!

Any the Black Bull is 50% ABV and is a mixture of 50% malt whisky and 50% grain whisky. The whisky was married together shortly after distillation and then married together for 30 years in sherry butts. I am not sure how well Red Bull will take to them promoting a brand called Black Bull though!

Anyway lets try it and see what I think:

Nose: Warming, sherry, orange, hint of treacle toffee, stewed fruits and bizarely corned beef. Also flat warm cherry coke.

Taste: Big sherry, touch of oak some aniseed and cinammon. Becomes creamier with time. Doesn't taste 50% ABV. Definate chocolate notes (maybe cause I am just getting over easter eggs!).

Finish: A real mixture, slighty drying almost salty, becoming more creamy and a little bit spicy.

Comment: I like this a lot! The grain just adds a cracking creaminess that tames the the sherry. An ever changing dram one to take your time over.

Score: 92/100

Upper Ten Finest Blended 40%

I saw this blend reviewed on the excellent Dr Whisky blog and so when I saw a bottle I thought that I should give it a try. This is produced by a Norwegian company Arcus and seemingly sells fairly well in Norway.

Anyway enough of the rambling lets taste it.

Nose: Slightly solventy, lots of creamy notes a little bit like emulsion (if I had to choose a colour I would say magnolia!), and a hint of perfumed smoke.

Taste: Initially dry and the young grain element does come through but in a good way - not fiery at all. After this some of the phenols start to develop but is faint and not "rich distinctive" peat as is described on the label. Also some sweeter creamier butter notes.

Finish: Fairly short but then a hint of scented candles in the finish.

Comment: Overall descent enough if anything a little thin on the palate but pleasantly drinkable - a decent session whisky.

Score: 78/100

Chivas 1801

A bottling that came out I believe it had something to do with Chivas revolve but slightly different - the bottles were "well" different! Any way here goes!

Nose: Initial sweet vanilla grain - but in a good way! Also some dry hay notes and a little bit musty with a thick side of caramel!

Taste: Oxymoron of a dram thick and thin at the same time! Grassy but with some heavier fruity notes - touch of sherry - god forbidden - this is not a bad dram!

Comment: This is not a bad dram but it is nothing great either - and to be honest I probably wont remember it in the morning! Fun at the time but no real commitment!

Ballantines 30 Year Old

Having been a fan of the DTC 35 year old blend I thought that I would try another aged blen to see if it stands up to the test. Things have been a bit quite on here of late but have tasted a few things lately so will get them added shortly.

Ballantines 30 Year Old Blend 43%

Nose: Rich, sweet vanilla with a touch of mint.
Taste: A touch of smoke, fairly light with a touch of citrus.
Finish: Fairly fresh, touch of smoke and light citrus notes and fairly dry.
Score: 85/100

A nice dram very well balanced just a little bit thin would have scored higher if it had a bit of ooommmppph!

Duncan Taylor 35 Year Old Blend

35 Year Old Blend Duncan Taylor

With all the recent talk on various places about home vatting I thought that I would crack open my bottle of 35 year old blend from Duncan Taylor. I tried this at whisky live London and ended up having to get a bottle. So we all know that blends are dull and boring or stupidly overly priced! - (Johnnie Blue anyone!) Ok I don't mean this at all (well I do about the Johnnie Blue bit) but this is the impression that a lot of people get when they hear the word blend - Well this is a cracking wee dram, lots of sherry cask influence but also a great creaminess coming through in the finish. Lots of spiciness and good to see that they have had the balls to bottle this at 46% rather than dumbing it down at 40%.

This blend was put together about 20 years ago, the malt and the grain was married together when the whisky was about 15 years old and then placed into sherry butts and left to mature for a further 20 years. I think that this is fairly unique I believe that most blends are only given about 6 months to marry together if that ( I had heard that some blends marry the grains and the malts separately before marrying the two together - but I have no definitive examples).

The result is a cracking whisky and at about £50 a bottle it is great value for money something that we often forget about when getting caught up in the latest extra expensive bottling.

Anyway enough waffling on here are my tasting notes:

Nose: Rich, lots of sherry - but balanced. Bitter chocolates and sweet creamy fruits.
Taste: Creamy oakiness in background, Vanilla. Really velvety and chewy, with lots of heavy fruits and glazed cherries. There is also a coastal saltiness that comes through.
Finish: Long, initially fruity and then the soft creaminess builds up along with a spiciness.
Comments: This is very well put together difficult to describe with no one flavour overpowering the whisky. A great blend but more importantly a cracking whisky.
Score: 93/100 Scores extra marks for value for money.

The label says that this is made up of four speyside malts, an islay and a highland malt and obviously some grain. I don't know which ones but the islay certainly adds a salty character.

For an alternative view (and a better written view!) check out http://mproberts.co.uk A fellow fan of the Duncan Taylor Blend.