Whisky: Black Bull 40 Year Blended Whisky, Batch 4

Country/Region: Scotland/Blend

ABV: 41.9%

Cask: Oak

Age: 40 Years (Bottled Dec. 2012)

Nose: Sweet citrus and dried grass, chalky minerality, canvas, and hints of coastal salinity and dried resins, mild cream with mugwort and medicinal herbs.

Palate: Medium-bodied, citrus and oak, subtle tropical notes, dried grass, wood resin, slightly sour musty herbs and old wood.

Finish: Medium to long and slightly drying with cream, almond, musty grass, and plenty of oak.

Score: 5-6

Mental Image: Playing “Is It Cake?” in the Antique Store

Narrative & Notes: My first impression was lemonade, or a yuzu-centric sangria enjoyed atop sunny sea cliffs— the coastal air carrying a sweet minerality with salt and dried grasses. Canvas and almost paper-like notes entered the picture with dried resins, woody and herbal with hints of citrus, before an undercurrent of cream emerged with mugwort and the sort of sweet medicinal herbs that can end up in a dessert or candy. Medium-bodied with citrus and oak. Orange and lemon peel gummies came to mind, with hints of lime and yuzu. A heady wave of wood followed closely behind with weathered oak, old resins, and dried grass. Nougat and creamy caramel hid further in the background as a vintage old-school style finish with musty herbs and a touch of sourness lingered on the back. The finish was medium to long and slightly drying; the creamy grain whiskies did not entirely balance out the tendency of some old malts toward the slightly off herbal or oaky finish with a kiss of almond.

According to Duncan Taylor, this blended whisky contains forty-year-old malt from Glenlivet, Bunnahabhain, Glen Grant, and Tamdhu, with a smaller percentage of grain whiskies from Invergordon and Port Dundas to balance the malts and ensure the final product was over 40%. Well, it certainly did taste old, though not always refined. The Bunnahabhain stood out quite a bit among the malts on my palate. However, I have no idea if it was the most significant component.

I enjoyed the aroma quite a bit but found the palate and finish to be over-oaked with a sour-herbal, or rather off-wood, note that I do not enjoy. I would rather get a bit of bitterness than sourness toward the end of the whisky. However, that might be a minority opinion as some people love that old-school flavor, which is far less common in modern whiskies.

Overall, pleasant enough and undoubtedly old-school, but not particularly to my taste. I would never turn down a dram, but I would not seek it out, either.