Bell's – 12 Year Old Special Reserve (70cl, 40%)

Bell's – 12 Year Old Special Reserve is a whisky from Bell's (Speyside). Aged 12 years, bottled at 40% ABV, 70cl. Perth-based Arthur Bell began vatting malt whiskies together to provide greater consistency from 1851, going on to create his own blended Scotch. In 1895 the ‘Extra Special’ trademark was registered, and was first used alongside Bell’s name in 1904. This was effectively Bell’s first branded blend. By 1970 Bell’s was Scotland’s leading blended Scotch, and in 1978 it became the best-selling blended Scotch in the UK, having seen sales grow in value by some 800% between 1970 and 1979, though it did briefly lose its number one status to The Famous Grouse in 1980. Remarkably, by that year Bell’s could boast around 35% of the market share for standard blended Scotch in Britain. During the decade from 1970, output from Bell’s distilleries rose from 4.75 million litres per annum to 13.44 million litres, partly due to the construction of Pittyvaich distillery in Dufftown during 1974. Much of the credit for Bell’s dramatic growth is usually given to Arthur Bell & Sons’ dynamic chairman and chief executive Raymond Miguel, who left the company in the wake of its takeover by Guinness in 1985. One major change to the actual Bell’s blend took place in 1994, when an 8-year-old age statement was added. This was a time when there was a surplus of mature Scotch whisky, so the move to give a perception of additional quality was understandable. The ‘heart malt’ of Bell’s is Blair Athol, while Dufftown and Glenkinchie help to shape the blend’s character, along with a quantity of Caol Ila from Islay, which adds a touch of island influence. Mid-20th Century bottles even contained a proportion of Springbank in the recipie up until the early 1980’s. Special Reserve Please note wear to carton