Bell's Original

Edit: I didn't taste this one, but an old blend from the 70's/80's. For the 3d round of the whisky diner I chose the bottle on the shelf with the oldest appearance. The botlle with a heavily worn and torn label turned out to be an 70/80's blend by Arthur Bell and sons. The Bell's Islander is an Island & Islay blend with components from Port Ellen, Lagavulin and Talisker. Purely out of politeness I accepted the dram, but right after nosing I knew I should have rejected it. I guess that the smoke and peat have been long gone since bottle opening, somewhere in the 70's or 80's. It was very malty and grainy but lacked any of the Island/Islay stuff I love so much. Some lemon had survived the years of oxidation. The palate was malty and flat but surprisingly some smoke had decided to stay put. The medium finish had the same malty flatness, but some sharp edged spicy alcohol did show it's teeth after all these years. I really liked the idea of drinking from an old bottle, containing Islay/Island stuff, but it wasn't enjoyable at all thanks to the oxidation. I advised the restaurant to remove this one from their shelf.