Black Bottle Island Smoke / 46.3% / 0.7l
- The Black Bottle brand was created by tea merchants, three Graham brothers, Gordon, David and Charles, in 1879.
Product description
The history of Black Bottle whisky begins in 1879, when the Graham brothers (Gordon, David and Charles), renowned tea merchants, decided to join the group of whisky producers.
The blend formula was based on malt and grain whiskey from Aberdeenshire, and several experiments resulted in a drink with an incredibly rich, yet slightly smoky palette. After World War II, Black Bottle experienced both ups and downs, in 2003 it was added to the Burn Stewart Distillers portfolio and remains strongly associated with the island of Islay. In 2021, the company launched the "Alchemy Series" with Double Cask and Island Smoke editions. The latter, (Experiment # 2) is a blend of over 20 malt and grain whiskeys containing a high percentage of smoky and peated malts, and the producer claims that "its heart is a blended malt from 1984". The whiskey is bottled at 46.3% abv without chill filtration.
Nose: lots of peat smoke and iodine, seaweed salad, vanilla, toffee, cinnamon, white pepper, cedar cigar box and a pinch of salt.
Palate: peat smoke and sea breeze, salted peanuts, vanilla, caramel, white pepper, a touch of cardamom and lemongrass.
Finish: quite long, smoky-salty, with notes of peat, salted caramel, white pepper, lemon peel and oak.