Black Bottle

[Fergie]

Came across this bottle lurking in the attic and wondered if it was a collectable bottle or just simply a run of the mill drinking one.
I bought it about 17 years ago because it looked a bit of an oddity and I don’t recall ever having seen another one like it. (This is where dozens of you guys jump in and tell me that these bottles are as common as muck)
The bottle is jet black and has a matt feel to it. There are no paper labels so I have no idea as to how the printing has been done.

Looking forward to your comments.

Cheers.

[Spirit of Islay]

Nice bottle fergie !
Never seen one before , i presume its an american bottling given the 75cl size ?
The Current standard Black Bottle bottlings are the NAS blend and 10yo expression . It's very popular on Islay ( nothing to do with all the Islay malt in it of course....) and it's a pretty good dram !
No idea how much this is worth or if it's collectable but it's a beaut !
Slainte
Gordon

[Thomas H.]

Curious, I never knew there had been a Black Bottle 15 years.

I did a quick google for it, but couldn't find anything. I hope someone knows more about this.

[Fergie]

Thanks for the input guys. Nice to know (so far) that it’s not a common bottling.
I bought it in my days as a publican and I’m now quite pleased that it never got as far as being placed on the gantry.
I am equally pleased that it was stuck in a box and forgotten about as otherwise, Black Bottle being one of my most favoured blends, it would probably not have survived this long.

(Liked the website Gordon)

Cheers.

[Spirit of Islay]

Hi Fergie ,
Thanks for the compliment about the site , i try my best !
If i see John ( Maclellan , manager of Bunnahabhain ) at this week-ends Whisky Fringe in Edinburgh , i'll ask him about the 15yo . I wonder if it was like the 10yo and only available on Islay ? Or has that changed now ?
Enjoy the bottle when you crack it open and let us know what it's like !

Slainte
Gordon

[bamber]

Found it here:

http://www.whisky-online.com/acatalog/b ... hisky.html

Rather tempting I'd say.

[lexvo]

I find this very interesting as Black Bottle is one of my favourite blends also.

Has anyone tasted this and if so, how does it compare to the 10Y?

[Fergie]

Ah well. There I was, thinking that I had discovered a little treasure chest, only to find that I have simply found a little gem.

Now, do I drink it or stick it on my website for sale with the rest of my collection. Would I have the willpower to just have a couple of drams at a time.
http://www.freewebs.com/rferguson/

Cheers.

[bamber]

£60-ish for a 15yo blend is pretty good I'd say. However, I'd drink it personally.

[Fergie]

£60 ish would buy a couple of bottles of Antiquary.

(and some crisps . )

Cheers.

[bamber]

Hmm £60, I'd go for a nice CS IB. Glenugie perhaps (and crisps of course).

Not had Antiquary. Nice blend ?

[Fergie]

Antiquary.....One of the best. It certainly was last week.
If you have never tried it, then you should. Soon.

Cheers.

[PuckJunkie]

£60 ish would buy a couple of bottles of Antiquary.

(and some crisps . )

Cheers.

Heck, $60 USD will buy a couple bottles of Antiquary here. £60 would buy three and have change, maybe for your crisps (? whatever that is ).

I'll have to try it, I keep passing it over in favor of new (to me) single malts.

Puck

[Fergie]

I would recomend that you try it Puck.
A glass of Antiquary and a comfortable armchair....sheer bliss

Crisps. I think they are called 'potato chips' on your side of the pond ???

Cheers

[Fergie]

Can't find this whisky on sale anywhere except by 'whisky-online'
Are they the only vendors ?? ??

Cheers

[bamber]

I'll give it a go as my next blend. Just finished my White and Mackay 12yo. Down to Grants 100 proof and White and Mackay NAS as only blends.

Really working on reducing by bottle count currently so another purchase is worrying

[The Fachan]

Info from within the old Allied distillers tells me, the bottle went into the market circa 1992 as a premium to the NAS version.
It was distributed by URM(United Rum Merchants)Agencies, the sales side of Allied and became almost an exclusive to the Scottish market.
Needless to say over the intervening years it has become a little more widespread.

Ian

[Spirit of Islay]

Info from within the old Allied distillers tells me, the bottle went into the market circa 1992 as a premium to the NAS version.
It was distributed by URM(United Rum Merchants)Agencies, the sales side of Allied and became almost an exclusive to the Scottish market.

Ian

Hi Ian ,
This gets more interesting by the posting , i presume this ran along side the 10yo ? or was it instead of the 10yo ? The 10yo was always marketed as only been available on Islay (which of course you can now get else where ) , wonder if this was the same . The next question would be does this contain all 7 Islay distilleries as the 10yo does ? If so that means it contains Ardbeg and Laphroaig from 1977 or Before !!!!
Come on Fergie Crack it open , we want to know what it's like !

Slainte
Gordon

[The Fachan]

Gordon,

The 15yo was on the market a good time before the 10yo. Not sure about the malt content, yes the current 10yo is 100% islay malt content.
I was working in a Cash & Carry in south west Scotland when it came out so would have been national distribution.

Ian

[Fergie]

Gordon :- Get thee behind me ..or words to that effect...

Ian :- Bought the 15yo. at a Cash & Carry in Airdrie. 1992/93.
Can I assume, from what you are saying, that the 10yo is different from the standard Black Bottle.

Cheer

[Fergie]

Well would you believe it. I was up in the attic earlier and there is another one.
Two 15yo. Black Bottles. What a nice surprise that was.
The photo is a bit of kidology, but the two bottles aren’t. Now I have a real dilemma on my hands.

Cheers.

[Jan]

Wow Fergie, good on you.

It's nice to see that this expression is aged for for 15 long years - hate it when they use those pesky short years

Cheers
Jan

[Ize]

Funny that there is the same kind of a scratch(?) in the same place on both bottles.

[Fergie]

Jan :- I did notice the ‘long years’ that were used in maturing the whisky. I wish that long years could be used in my personal aging process. Now that I am, what some people would call, an elderly gentleman, I find that I am now growing older with years that are very short, and seem to be getting shorter. Time is not passing by any longer, it is rushing by, at an alarming speed. So I must agree with you when you say that you hate ‘those pesky short years’.

Ize :- You have noticed that the same scratch (?) appears on both bottles. I did say (just under the photo) that “the photo is a bit of kidology”. Even though I genuinely have two bottles, the photo shown is made up by using a mirror image of the same bottle. I did it that way instead of using my camera and setting up another shot. No photograph will ever prove that I have two bottles especially when you consider that I could, if I wished, set up an image that showed a dozen or more bottles.

What does surprise me is that many people go to great lengths in describing bottles and labels when a simple photo would do the job much better. ??? Cheers.

[Deactivated Member]

What dilemma? Finding a second bottle is the answer to many a feinschmecker's prayers. Now you have one to drink and one to keep (or sell).

I have to assume that "long years" are leap years, since they are a day longer than regular years. So a whisky aged for "15 long years" would be about 60 years old!

[Photon]

What dilemma? Finding a second bottle is the answer to many a feinschmecker's prayers. Now you have one to drink and one to keep (or sell).

Or two to drink...

-P.

[Ize]

Sorry, I somehow did not internalize that kidology part ..

[Fergie]

"Internalize" now there's a word to play around with.

ie. Whisky snobs don't drink whisky, they 'internalize' it

Cheers

[Ize]

Whisky snobs don't drink whisky, they 'internalize' it

Clearly this one is so classy that it makes it potential signature stuff.