Black Bottle (Blend, post-2013)

Black Bottle was known for decades as "the peaty blend," made up of bits of all the Islay distilleries. However, as of 2013 or so, after various changes in ownership, they changed the blend around, with the result that there is now a pronounced Highland/Speyside emphasis, with a greatly reduced peat character, all of which is provided by Bunnahabhain. This is a review of the new formulation of Black Bottle, since I can't find a dusty forgotten bottle of the old stuff for the life of me. 


I have a very brief anecdote about this stuff: I bought a bottle out of the sale bin at my beloved local liquor store Arrowine, and brought it to a gathering of four Scotch-enjoying gentlemen... and it didn't last an hour. This blend was an instant hit, and I resolved to eventually review it. I recently bought the last bottle the store had, and here is the result. Bottled at 40%. 

Nose: A whiff of rubbery peat smoke, right off the top, but somewhat thin - no real medicinal or maritime notes. Then, baked sour plums and red cherries. Orange marmalade. Apple juice, or maybe apple cider. Laced through all of that is a certain vanilla/caramel sweetness, and a kind of spiciness - cloves? Quite an attractive nose.

Mouthfeel: Thinnish, and cool in the mouth. 

Palate: Despite the new formula, this still retains a bit of peat. But the real character here is defined by a ton of fruit: the apple juice scent in the nose resolves into a kaleidoscope of apples: apples, baked apples, cider, apple peels, bitter apple seeds. That's something of an exaggeration, but there is a lot of apple flavor under the peat here. The smoke comes across as tobacco leaf, and remains fairly thin. All this gives way to a surprisingly vegetal pepper (jalapeno??) and young oak - the palate here is very pleasant, but very, very short too. It's also quite smooth - no alcohol burn, which makes this dangerously downable. 

Finish: Quite short - the smoke dies first, and then the peppery tingle goes. 

Verdict: This is a good blend - even in the newer, less smoky version, this beats the pants off J&B or Famous Grouse or Cutty Sark etc. For $25 (seemingly the going rate these days), it's a decent buy. Roughly on par with White Horse, I'd say. Recommended, especially as a mixer for Scotch cocktails where a little smoke might not be unwelcome (like a Barbary Coast). Would be interesting in a Rob Roy or a Rusty Nail. And good enough to stand up to sipping on its own, in a pinch.