BLACK BULL SPECIAL RESERVE 2 ~ SCOTLAND

81/100 The Whisky Base

Nose - Rounded toffee, ginger, vanilla and toasted pine nuts.

Palate - Caramel with hints of dried apple and juicy apricot. Hazelnut spread. Pepper.

Finish - Full, with great depth, cocoa, orange oil.

Duncan Taylor is an independent bottler and blender of Scotch whisky, founded in Glasgow in 1938, and has ownership of one of the largest privately-held collections of rare scotch whisky casks. It initially operated as a whisky merchant and broker of Scotch sales between distilleries and independent bottlers and blenders. In 2001 Euan Shand, formerly of GlenDronach, acquired the firm, and in 2014 the company moved its headquarters to Huntly in Aberdeenshire, close to Speyside, to focus on the production and marketing of its own brands. Over time the company built strong ties with distillers and distilleries all over Scotland, with the company bringing their own casks to the distilleries to be filled with new make spirit. This resulted in a collection of cask whiskies from many distilleries which are now closed, which are still maturing in the Duncan Taylor warehouses today. As well as whisky, the company also produces gin and bottles single-cask rum.