Black Bull 12 Year (Duncan Taylor)

I love this! Nose is sherry, sherry, sherry and finally vanilla oak. Taste is sweet and complex oak, vanilla and caramel giving way to balanced tannin. Loverly mouth feel and all this unwatered at 50% - impressive. Adding water brings out a treacle element in the nose and quietens down the taste and stretches out separates the tannin finish. I actually prefer it neat. 4 Stars or 92

Whisky number 6 from the batch of 12 blends I'm currently rating - and this one is quite something. Nose: Big rich sherry, malt and oak - an enveloping blanket of aromas worthy of a sherry-rich Speyside single malt. Vanilla and toffee, deep floral notes (violets, damask rose) but they are subtle and add depth without making it a sweetly floral nose. Palate: After the weight and power of the nose, the palate was a surprise - just as impressive, but juicy, chewy and almost crisp with a bright, clean arrival. I was expecting thick and sweet, but not a bit of it. The grain component is magnificently used here, keeping everything lean and poised. This is how to make a blend! There is a solid alcohol heft (50% ABV) but it's not a crude punch or hot attack. Very nice sherry and oak flavours, dark fruits, orchard fruits, dark cherries, treacle, plum pudding. Finish: Medium/long. It fades out slowly on a slightly spicy, but very juicy, sherry and dark chocolate note that leaves the mouth watering. I tasted this neat to start with, then added about 5ml of water to what was about 20 ml left in the glass. This did not change the profile much but toned things down a bit and allowed some more subtle levels of the previously mentioned aromas and flavours to emerge. It did bring out some dark marmalade in the development and let the grain whisky come more to the front. This is a rich, round, full, top-shelf scotch blend that could pass for a malt blend. Very nice indeed, and an order of magnitude better than any of the other blends I've been rating recently. To be fair it is 2-3 times the price of the others but at AUD$90 it is good value and equal to, or better than, any other blend at that price point (and a fair few malt blends and single malts as well). A lovely dram. "Good" : 83/100 (3.5 stars)

A fine blend! The high malt percentage used shows, as does the higher ABV; this is a rich, chewy dram, with a soft layer of fresh fruit, vanilla, and spice over a muscular base of earthy grain. This has enough personality to hold up in a cocktail fairly well....which is a compliment!