Review #18 Black Bottle:

A Scotsman, an Englishman and an Irishman are sitting in a bar in New York reminiscing about home.
"Back in me pub in Glasgow," brags the Scotsman, "fer every four pints of stout I order, they give me one fer free!"
"In me pub in London," says the Englishman,"I pay fer two pint's o' Guiness and they give me a third one free!"
"That's nuthin'" says the Irishman, "Im my pub back in Dublin, you walk up to the bar, they give the first pint fer free, the second pint fer free, the third pint fer free -- and then they take you upstairs and you have sex for FREE!"

"Is that true?" asks the Scotsman. "Has that really happened to you?"
"Well, no," says the Irishman, "but it happens to me sister all the time!"

Black Bottle:   NAS  40%, Blended Islays,   $24  Daveco 750ml

Hello again Scotch fans, my review #18 of Black Bottle.  My like of blends so far produces a short list but so far this is one of my highest ranking blends so far, and one of the few that I keep as a go to when I don’t wish to deplete my single malts.  It claims on the bottle to be a blend of all the Islay malts, and it’s produced from Gordon Graham and Company.  And onto the review....

Color:  Amber = +.5 to +1. Hint of gold with slow medium width tears.

Nose:  Islay-esque Briny Sea water, Iodine, Faint Peat, Fruit like Apple and Pear, Island Moss, Beach Sand, Licorice, Zest, Dry Hay, Sage

Mouth Feel:  Thin and Quick

Taste:  Saltwater, Seaweed, Smoke, Toffee, Dry Vegetation, Sweet Syrup, Malty, Black Pepper, Licorice, Fennel.

Finish:  Dry Grass, Seafood (Mussels)  Oak, Earthy

With Water:  N:  Softer Floral not, Sand, Honey, Almonds.

                          T:  Sweet Tree Nuts, Smoke, Sea Air, Creme Brule

Score:  Taste:  65,  Value: 14,  Unique: 3,  Buy Again 5  Total:  87

In my opinion this blend outranks a number of single malts for its complexity, nose and taste profiles. Probably one of the best blended scotch whiskies for the money.  Not too peaty, not too sweet a pretty good balance overall.  An excellent first, or early scotch for anyone on a tight budget.