Black Bottle and blends in general

by **bamber** » Mon Apr 05, 2004 10:22 am

Tried my first bottle (not the whole thing honest) of Black bottle this weekend.

It wounds me to say it but I really can't help feeling that the grain dominates too much in this and all the cheaper blended scotch whiskies.

I was having an Islay afternoon - Black Bottle, Ardberg 10YO, and some Safeway's Islay (a vatted supermarket malt that is very good).

Bottom line: malt tastes better than grain in scotch no matter what the expression (imho).

The only blend that really cuts it for me is JW black label.

Cheers,

Bamber.

by **r0b** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:06 am

Did you have the 10 Yrs or the standard?

by **Admiral** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 4:18 am

Rob, is the malt-to-grain ratio different in the 10yo vs the regular bottling?

Bamber: I agree wholeheartedly with you. Often in a series of tastings, you can start with blends and then move up to malts. However, if you have a malt or two, & then try a blend, it is a very rare blend indeed that has the necessary body, depth, & flavour to stand up & compete.

I suspect the only reason why JW Black cuts it for you is that - being a Diageo product - there's probably enough Lagavulin, Caol Ila, & Talisker in there to give it sufficient bite.

by **r0b** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 5:06 am

Admiral, I'm not sure but IMO the 10 tastes very close to a single malt. I actually prefer the standard version most of the time as I find it has a lot more bite and I like it young.

bamber, I agree for the most part with your opinion on malts VS blends. But sometimes malts can be flat and dull, whereas the grain and malts in a blend can spice things up and bring a new dimension to it that plenty of malts can't manage on their own.

About the JWBL, as far as I know there's no Lagavulin in it at all now, only Caol Ila...?

by **bamber** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 10:16 am

It was the standard bottling.

Don't get me wrong I'm not saying I did not enjoy it !!

With regards JWB, it certainly tastes as if its got some Talisker in it and it sure tastes malty to me

Cheers,

Bamber.

by **r0b** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 10:44 am

I think at one point JWBL was almost sold as Talisker (way back), so indeed it's in there.

by **Admiral** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 4:40 am

Rob,

I went to a Johnnie Walker Black Label promotion night about 18 months ago, and they advised that Lagavulin was indeed one of the component malts.

However, given that there are (apparently) 41 different grain & malt whiskies in JW Black, you would expect there to be more than just Caol Ila supplying the Islay content! Maybe they also use Ardbeg or Laphroiag?

It's nice to think that Diageo do their best to use only their own products in their blends, but - according to the JW legend - the recipe for JW Black has remained unchanged. (I'm very sceptical about this, since countless distilleries have closed since JW Black was first produced). In any event, back when JW Black was first conceived, it is most probable that distilleries like Lagavulin, Caol Ila, and Talisker were all owned & run by three different & independent companies.

by **hpulley** » Wed Apr 07, 2004 7:08 pm

I like malt whisky and I like grain whisky, just not in the same glass and like you, if I can tell a blend is made of both then I don't like it.

Harry

by **Aidan** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 12:41 am

Maybe JW has the same recipe as its sales might have been enough to keep the distilleries it uses open.

I like malt, grain and blends. They all vary in quality between bad and brilliant.

by **r0b** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 1:05 am

Aidan wrote:I like malt, grain and blends. They all vary in quality between bad and brilliant.

As all whiskies do, regardless of form and origin... It's a matter of finding what works for you.

by **Aidan** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 8:03 am

Absolutely, Rob, that's my point.