Whisky Review: Black Bottle Blended Scotch Whisky

In 2013, Burn Stewart Distillery relaunched a long established blended Scotch brand: Black Bottle. They changed the bottle and they changed the contents. With a new mashbill the question is whether or not it is as good as the older version?

Prior to 2013, Black Bottle was a wonderful blended Scotch with a tremendous amount of smooth, sweet Islay whiskies with some grain whiskies that were never offensive. A real treat that was super cheap to buy too! I mean typically around $23 or so. It and White Horse dominated the very best of blended Scotch whisky bargains. The new version tasting note is as follows:

ABV
40%

Age Statement
None

Nose (undiluted)
Spirity, young for sure, but getting past that it exhibits notes of sea air, smoke, roses. Nothing special here, nor did I expect an incredible nose given the cheap blend price.

Palate (undiluted)
Sherry for sure, hardly any Islay influence like peat and smoke.  I am tasting black grapes, black cherry, graphite, pencil lead and young oak.

Finish (undiluted)
Smokey, like a damp wood fire beachside, with much grainy notes, sandy, mineral water and herbs.

General Impressions
Big disappointment. This is a shadow of its predecessor. What was once a wonderfully smooth and peated blended Scotch with plenty of Islay notes of tar, seaweed and dulse is now a tired, boring and young whisky exhibiting dull black grapes, black cherry and little smoke.

Recommendation
Do not buy. This represents a cheap blended Scotch whisky experience that I do not care to repeat.

If you ever see the old Black Bottle on a shelf, buy it! Here is a review of the pre-2013 bottling:

https://jason-scotchreviews.blogspot....

Cheers!


Jason Debly

The Search for Black Bottle blended Scotch

It's always nice to discover an affordable economy blended Scotch that punches way above its weight class.  Black Bottle was once a great blend delivering luscious Islay notes in a cheap bottle.  Here is my old review of that beauty: http://jason-scotchreviews.blogspot.ca/2011/05/review-black-bottle-blended-scotch.html

Unfortunately, in 2013, the flavor profile changed dramatically (as the corporate masters sought to increase sales by going for the lowest common denominator) from a strong Islay influence to a boring, mainstream Speyside style.  Nevertheless, one of my readers, Bob, and I were trading some email, as he searched for the best affordable blends. Here is his tale of Black Bottle discovery that he emailed me the other day:

It's rare that I am in the right place at the right time, like when Microsoft first offered it's stock to me circa 1985 and I poo-pooed it at the time when it was around $5 a share and had yet to split about a dozen times after that. Ahhh, a $5000 investment at the time would probably be worth $350,000+ today but to even think about it still makes me sad so I will digress. Thus, I will fast forward to the present to get to the gist of this e-mail rather than waxing poetic on love scorned, opportunities lost, ad infinitum.

So for the past 2 months since reading all the rave reviews about Black Bottle blended Scotch, only to read further that all the fuss was about the old bottling I had pretty much made up my mind that it was just not in the cards for me. I am not (read 'my wife will not let me') buy a bottle at auction for $120 or more. Or order one from the U.K. and have to endure a 55 £ shipping charge. So I resigned myself to finding a bottle of the 'new' version in person rather than ordering one. Which was no small feat! Pennsylvania and New Hampshire have state stores that all carry the same stuff and neither state stocked Black Bottle. Ditto Vermont. So I scoured Connecticut and found one place that had it in stock, but at $26.99 a bottle I passed figuring another store would have it for less (I had seen it for $20 online) on the same trip. Well after 200 miles of driving and 9 additional stops, I was kicking myself for not getting it, just to try it.


Several weeks and dozens of stores in various states later, I could still not find a store that stocked Black Bottle and most had never even heard of it. Then on a whim my wife and I were away on a short business trip (I sell used & rare bass guitars for a living after suffering as an accounting manager back in those early Microsoft stock days) and it was late so I decided to just try one more store before we headed to our hotel. I headed right for the Scotch aisle and of course, started at the bottom shelf. Right next to the Inver House I saw a 'sale' tag for Black Bottle at $17.99 but did not see any. I bent down and moved a few bottles around and there on the bottom shelf, behind the Inver House were. They were covered in dust with the original hang tags on them! I only saw one at first and acted as if I had discovered the Mother Lode, according to my wife. I was in shock as I got down on my stomach and pulled out a 2nd, 3rd and 4th bottle! Of course, later in the week when I had to drive through the area I tried every dinky liquor store within a 40-mile radius and as expected, not a single one had ever heard of Black Bottle new or old. 

So I consider myself as lucky as if I hit the lottery or something like that! The thrill of the hunt was as exciting as actually finding a few bottles of 'the good stuff' and I feel a bit let down now that it's over. Of course I won't stop looking but my short-term obsession has waned more out of necessity than anything else. Now I just have to sit down and try it when I am back home in a few weeks! We are in Denver, Colorado this week so I'll scour the area a bit for a small prize before I get worn out.


Best, Bob

Best Scotch Whisky of 2011

Santa is coming soon.  What will he bring you?  Santa, if you are reading this, please take note.

Over the past year, I reviewed a number of blends and single malts.  Who were the stunners that would make excellent gifts to good boys and girls the world over?

GlenDronach 15 year old Revival ($75)
This is a sherried dram.  Bursting forth with lots of frothy red fruit, blackberry, orient spices and tobacco.  Powerful, leaving a long taste of smoke and plums.  Highly recommended for the boys and girls who like sherried whisky.

Te Bheag Connoisseur's Blended Scotch ($35)
This is not a well known blended scotch.  Very hard to find in the US, but available in Canada and the UK.

Probably the best blended scotch whisky discovery in my opinion of the past year was Te Bheag (pronounced che vek).  It's reasonably priced and delivers great flavors of tobacco, peat and sherry, woven well, with no bitterness, bite or alcohol peeking through.  I was amazed by this blend and frankly I think it disappeared off my shelf in about two weeks!

Black Bottle Blended Scotch Whisky ($20)
Another blend makes Santa's list this year:  Black Bottle Blended Scotch Whisky.  Incredibly affordable at around $20, but damn impressive if you like peat and smoke from Islay to tickle your taste buds.  Sweet peat, gentle fire smoke of damp spruce tree branches by the beach on an overcast day.  Wow!

Highland Park 15 years ($72)
Highland Park 15 years was a discovery of mine in 2010, but I revisited it (click here) again in 2011.  Simply an expensive and brilliant shining diamond of a single malt.  This malt brings together what is magical about whisky in one bottle.  You have peat and heather, honey and toffee complimented by smoke.

Johnnie Walker Green Label ($50)
Sometimes Santa needs to give a gift that he is sure is a well recognized crowd pleaser that gives a taste of all the regions of Scotland.  Johnnie Walker Green is soft honey, drizzled over toast with lemon zest, sea spray and a hint of peat that always makes those good girls and boys happy on Christmas day!

Hopefully, we have all been nice and not naughty, so that ol' St. Nick will bring us something we can enjoy over the holidays!


Jason Debly

Review: Black Bottle Blended Scotch Whisky

Spring is here!  The birds are chirpin' and the sun actually is warming as it shines down on my pointed head.    There may be a nip in the air and my lawn is still recovering from winter kill, but these are merely telltale signs that another season of golf is about to begin!  

There are two scotch whiskies that I associate with this time of year.  Glenfiddich 12 years and Black Bottle.  Why?  Many years ago, in the very early Spring, I played a round of golf on a very cold and windy day.  When I and some friends shook hands on the 18th hole following our inaugural round of the season, I was spent.  Wind burnt face, tired and in dire need of something to warm me up, and not knowing anything about scotch, I ordered the only malt in the clubhouse:  Glenfiddich 12 years.

It warmed me up, made me think of pine needles and to this day I can remember it like yesterday.  Just one of those moments I have never forgotten.  Some people can tell you the price they paid for their first car, not me, finances are a blur, details that do not interest me.  Ask me when I first tried this or that scotch and I will give you a level of detail that might make you question whether I have just gone completely over the deep end.  We all have our callings.  Forensic accountants attention for detail is valued a helluva a lot more by society than mine.

So, because of that first experience, Glenfiddich is invariably the choice malt, an ol' favorite for that first golf outing of the year.  But, after the first round, there will be another malt on days of inclement weather.  On those wind whipped days, often accompanied by intermittent lashings of rain, it is an Islay that calls my name.  Not a single malt, but a blend, a special blend:  Black Bottle.  In the clubhouse, after 18 holes, I want comfort scotch, warmth and flavor, but not an Islay single malt (ie. Lagavulin) that makes me feel I am wasting it because I am not paying enough attention to it.  Hence, Lagavulin and other great Islay are not suitable for such a setting.

Nose
Malty!  For an Islay blend, I was expecting more smoke and peat, but what I sniff initially is malt.  Not bad at all, just a little surprising.  After the pleasant malt flavor, the scotch does reveal peat and smoke, but very restrained.  This is not a screaming Archie Bunker in Edith's face smoke and peat scenario.  No Ardbeg style nose here.  This is subdued.  It's Ricardo Montalban smoothly talking about the "soft corinthian leather" in that 1975 Chrysler Cordoba advertisement:

Palate
The smooth Cordoba ride continues onto the palate with a sweet entry of malt followed by soft smoke and gentle peat.  Hardly any peat.  This is very soft.  Extremely quaffable.  A bottle that is disappearing far too quickly!  A great introductory blend to anyone who wants to learn about Islay scotch or are convinced that they do not like Islays.

Finish
Pencil shavings, malt, cardamon and of course smoke and peat.

General Impressions
In the category of "blended scotch whisky," Black Bottle is outstanding!  This scotch whisky has something for everyone.  The newbie will delight in the gentle, smooth texture while the scotch nut (like moi) will marvel at the great balance between smoke, peat and sweetness.  Damn! this is good!  And warming too on those cold blustery days when I walk off the 18th hole!

Cheers!



Jason Debly

Note:  This is a review of Black Bottle prior to the 2013 relaunch of this iconic blend.  Accordingly my tasting notes apply to bottle prior to the 2013 relaunch.  The relaunch has changed the flavor profile of this blend considerably.  The new bottling places less emphasis on Islay and more on traditional Speyside sherry, dark plum notes.  The relaunched version is a shadow of its ancestor.  A good article on this can be found here: here

Copyright © Jason Debly, 2009-2011. All rights reserved. Any and all use is prohibited without permission except for video cap above that was taken from the 1975 Chrysler Cordoba advertisement as it belongs to the owners of Chrysler.    I do not own any rights to the Chrysler Cordoba advertisement which is posted for the purposes of nostalgia and entertainment.