Black Bottle (new style)

Black Bottle Blend (new style)
Burns Stewart Distillers
No Age Statement
Strength: 40%.

Nose: Richer and more sherried than the old style. This seems more like a peated speysider than an Islay, which by all accounts is the direction they are going with it. The simple savoury notes of the new style are deeper and almost more caramelised with BBQ pulled pork, or honey glazed ham, and there is also a note that is like roast beef and mustard - but in particular the brannigan's crisps. The richness is coming through as spiced ginger cake - the sherry influence here for me. There is also a touch of deep heat muscle rub, and of those firy cinnamon jawbreaker gobstobbers they sold when I was a child. Raisins and dates, christmas trifle and dessert fruits. Butterkist popcorn.

Palate: Sweet and sherried with chocolate, nuts and some spice.

Finish: Sweet but the savoury meaty smokiness again. BBQ pork again. Longer finish and thicker lasting in the throat than the old style.

Comments: I like this but this is a different dram from the old style recipe. I don't think the two are comparable in such a way other than the name. It is really a shame they are losing the old style, but maybe with this new style are they looking to break out into the foreign market now? I think they could have taken the opportunity to bump up the ABV a little, preferably to 46%, but at least to 43% - it is going to be a long time until they get a chance again now.

30.77 This is nuts! (Glenrothes 16 year old)

Information

Distillery: Glenrothes
Bottling: Scotch Malt Whisky Society
Age: 16
Distilled: 1997
Bottled: 2013
Strength: 57.7%
Cask: Refill sherry butt.
Cask Code: 30.77 This is nuts!

I don't pick up sherry casked whisky often, and when I do it generally has to be a well used cask which doesn't impact too much sherryness into the malt. When I was at the SMWS venue "The Vaults" in Leith to pick up some new bottles and I seen this one which picked up my attention because I have tasted some nice malts out of Glenrothes Distillery before, and a couple of strange and interesting ones from the SMWS before so I thought I would challenge myself to something different. Won't know unless you try right?

Nose: Sometimes I wish I hadn't read the label on my SMWS bottles before doing a tasting as it does impact some power of suggestion. "This is nuts" being fairly obvious about nutty type aromas, which is the sort of things that you do pick up from sherry casks. Nuts are definately coming through but in a sweet way that you would expect from a baker or a confectioner. Sweet and creamy Praline. Almonds and Marizapan in a Battenberg Cake. Minty aromas as I always get from a sherry cask - Imagine sitting at the cinema watching a film eating Mint Ice Cream with crushed Pecan Nuts, along side freshly popped Toffee Popcorn. Lots of sweet dessert fruits such as Strawberries, Blackcurrants, Redcurrants with a chocolate sauce and cream drizzled on top. Tunnock's Caramel Logs which are one of my favourite biscuits with coconut, biscuit, chocolate and caramel - it is a very nutty treat. Moving away from sweet notes there are more meaty, savoury notes coming through in the way of smoked sausage, and pepperoni pizza. There is also a slightly vegetative note in what reminds of me brussel sprouts which I absolutely hate by the way. Even the dog refuses them off the plate at Christmas. There is a definatete rubber note which I have smelt from the beginning but wanted to concentrate firstly on the positives rather than the negatives. The note is a combination of pencil shavings and pencil rubber/erasers and the smell reminds me of my pencil box at school.

Palate: On the palate as expected without water is pretty hot, but sweet and honeyed. Almost like honey and lemon tea which I was given when I was sick as a youngster. Milk Chocolate and Butterscotch which is a very positive note.Mint, Caramel, and finally something which is a bit metallic and I don't like. The sort of thing that subtractive maturation should take away. Those meaty and rubbery notes as well.

Finish: That creamy butterscotch and chocolate, caramel and coconut, and I am not sure whether this is pleasant or unpleasant but chewing on a burnt out match. The rubbery notes linger longer than the more good ones which may or may not be a good think dependant on your sensitivity to those sulphuric compounds.

Comments: An interesting malt and I am glad I spent the time deconstructing it but the sulphuric notes are strong with this (says Darth Vader). It isn't something I could drink every night but it does make a change from the typical ex-bourbon stuff which floats my boat so much.