Nose: Crisp, malty and lightly fruity. There's a sweet note that is a little like a combination of butterscotch, barley sugar and coconut ice. It's not an overt rum aroma, but there is something unmistakably reminiscent of rum, and even more suggestive of raw sugarcane juice. As the whisky rests in the glass this sweet character intensifies. Water brings out grassy, more agricole-like notes. Palate: A raw-sugar and mildly spiced fruity arrival. A little more warm spice emerges in the development, which is also where the rum cask influence becomes much more apparent. The texture is full and the profile velvety soft. Adding water makes the palate even softer, and almost dangerously drinkable! Finish: Medium/short. Warm and sweet with rum and demerara sugar strongly apparent right through into the aftertaste. Duncan Taylor's blended whisky does not seem to have a big presence in markets outside the UK and Commonwealth countries. "Black Bull" is a brand that was registered in the 1860s and its particular claim to fame was the high malt content of the blend. When the name was resurrected by Duncan Taylor in 2009 they wisely decided to stay true to the blend's origins and position it as a high-proof range. Although they do not advertise the fact I'm certain that this blend contains no added caramel, as it is a very pale straw colour, however the constituent malt and grain whiskies are almost certainly chill-filtered. As a test I added a good deal of water to a dram and left it, but after an hour there was no louche. An interesting and enjoyable blend that certainly shows the effect of the rum casks in which it was finished for 16 months. The sugary sweetness of rum is never far away and it is a much more apparent rum finish than I've tasted on any other whisky. The only criticism I have is that this sweetness is a bit one-note and the lack of complexity makes you lose interest fairly quickly. It's nothing spectacular but a good honest everyday sipper or session whisky, and at the very reasonable price it is certainly competitive. Interestingly, the best way I've found to take this is in cola soft drink, in which it bears an uncanny resemblance to a light-bodied gold rum. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)