...where distraction is the main attraction.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Black & White blended whisky, bottled 1962-1964

This is the Black & White label style familiar to dusty whisky collectors and well-seasoned scotch drinkers. Used throughout the 1950s, this style's final year may have been 1966(see 1966 ad versus a 1967 ad). As per this month's introductory video, I have a number of these wee bottles.

Figuring out this particular bottle's fill date is partly based on its state tax stamp.


This very cool site says that the 2OZ font was larger than the rest of the stamp print in 1962, though there's no word on if that remained true from 1963 through 1977. I've seen quite a few Wisconsin state stamps with the big 2OZ font, but I'm not sure what year they were from.

I can tell you that there's a faint "64" on the bottom of the bottle — though I cannot seem to take a clear photo of it — so that gives me a potential timeframe to focus on: 1962-1964.

This one went head-to-head with yesterday's 1967-1969 bottling.

Brand: Black & White
Owner at time of bottling: Distillers Company Limited
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Age: minimum 3 years
Bottled: sometime between 1962 and 1964
Alcohol by Volume: 43.4%
(from my purchased 1/10 pint bottle)

NOTES
At first the nose is very similar to the late '60s version, with its baked pears, Mr. Sketch markers and Mentos candies. But it opens up more and more over time. First come the peaches and anise. Then a slight phenolic note, cut grass and a machine shop. Finally, an overripe fruit note arrives (think melons and stone fruits) and completely takes over. Lots of those overripe fruits show up on the palate. There's also a quirky spicy buzz to it. The combination of those two factors give it a funky rum edge. There's minimal sweetness and no tannins. Notes of mulled wine, red pepper flakes, dried oregano and toasted grains show up after 30 minutes. The finish is devoid of the overripe, funky notes. There are oranges, peppercorns, dried herbs and caramel sauce. Again, no tannins, not much sweetness.

WORDS WORDS WORDS
There was a significant difference between this whisky and yesterday's Black & White even though they were bottled 3 to 7 years apart. This one was covered in thick crazy funk. That one was tannic and sugary. That one was simple, this one was anything but. This B&W calms down at the finish, but before that it's all perky weirdness. No one produces whisky like this now, and I'm not sure if anyone could. It seems closer to rum at times. I'm not sure I could make through a fifth of this stuff, but 1/10 pint is the perfect amount. It was spirited fun. Now onto something else...

Rating - 84