When you ask people if they drink whisky a fair few will make a face and say something along the lines of  ”I don’t like whisky” and this is usually because the persons first encounter with whisky ended badly and started with Bells.

Bells whisky had a bad press when I was a kid, people said it was harsh and not easy to drink…personally I think they were talking out of their backsides, I have always liked Bells, it is what is says it is on the bottle…Whisky.

And a damned good one at that, especially as a flavouring whisky.

However the one thing that has had me thinking over the last few years though  is whether or  not Bells has changed the blend because it seems far “softer” and easier to drink than the reputation that precedes it demands, I actually find bells a pleasant whisky to drink neat as well as an exceptional whisky for cooking and mixing  because it does have some poke about it and passes on its flavour’s without being washed over and lost in translation.

Anyway i thought that my curiosity would never be answered because  simple do not have two bottles to match against each other…Or I should say didn’t have until recently!

I was given a bottle of Bells on new years eve that was bottled over 25 years ago as well as a bottle of Bells that was bought from ASDA only that very same day!!

A pair of Bells that were bottled a quarter of a century apart!

So is there a difference?

Yes…the older drink did  have more tar about it, the woody bite add the snap of the phenol’s certainly gave it an edge that I remembered from my youth…both from the taste of their inward trip and then a couple of hours later on the return journey to the surface, saying that however the drink was by no means unpleasant especially when judged against some of the American Bourbon Whisky’s that in my opinion are there solely to prepare the casks for something far more sophisticated to be made in at a later date.

the new Bells however was very soft in comparison and far easier to drink neat.

Both however would be better suited a short sharp shot of dry ginger ale, a splash of ginger wine, a dash of fresh lime or any other combination of ingredients you can think of from hot coffee to crushed ice!

I  like Bells…it makes me happy!