Bell's Whisky

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  Bells De Luxe 12 years old Blended Scotch Whisky 43%

  Item no.: 505956-498796-578

  De Luxe sat twelve years in cask while Bell's outsold every other blended whisky in Britain. The bottle holds 75 centilitres, which on its own tells you how far back we are. That measure left the shelves when the EU harmonised bottle sizes.

  The expert's description

  Bell's De Luxe 12 years is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 43 % in a 75 centilitre bottle.

  De Luxe was the older and better dressed version of the standard blend. Twelve years in cask and 43 % instead of the usual 40 gave it more weight and a clearer malt core, and it was sold as the gift bottle rather than the everyday one.

  Arthur Bell & Sons started as a grocery business in Perth in 1825, and the blend was built around Blair Athol in Pitlochry, still known as the home distillery. The firm is part of Diageo today, and De Luxe has been out of production for many years.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Honey, dried apple and a clear malt sweetness. Behind it sit vanilla and a touch of spiced oak.

  Palate

  Fuller than the standard blend, with caramel, nut and a warm note of spice. The extra three per cent reads clearly in the texture.

  Finish

  Medium, dry and malty with a last note of oak.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's De Luxe 12 år
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
  Age: 12 years
  ABV: 43 %
  Size: 75 CL
  Cask type: Oak casks
  Edition: De Luxe

  Flavour profile

  Malty · Honeyed · Nutty · Spiced · Soft

  Investment potential

  Medium. The bottling is discontinued, and the 75 centilitre format left the European market in the 1990s. Older blends from the big houses have started drawing collector attention, precisely because so few were ever put away.

  Did you know?

  In 1988 Bell's put a Christmas decanter into production with a new design every year, and those porcelain bottles are a collecting field of their own today. Some Scottish households keep a whole shelf of them unopened.

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  • 1pcs.
    80,25EUR
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  Bell's Original Blended Scotch Whisky 100 cl 40%

  Item no.: 22227865397-245

  A litre of Bell's is not a bottle you buy for the display cabinet. It gets bought for the house, put at the back of the cupboard and pulled out when someone drops by. That is its function, and it has held it for decades without complaint.

  The expert's description

  Bell's Original 100 cl is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

  Original was previously called Specially Selected and took its current name in 2008. The blend is built around Blair Athol in Pitlochry, regarded as the home distillery of the house, supported by malt from several other distilleries and by grain whisky, which supplies the light, round texture.

  The litre format is a practical decision more than a collector decision. The larger bottle is still around, mainly in airports and with retailers who have the shelf space, and it is meant for households where the whisky gets drunk rather than kept.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Light and cereal led with vanilla, apple and a dry malt note. A little caramel sits underneath.

  Palate

  Soft and simple with honey, cereal and a hint of nut. No edges, no surprises, and that is deliberate.

  Finish

  Short and dry with a last malty warmth.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's Original 100 cl
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 40 %
  Size: 100 CL
  Cask type: Oak casks
  EAN no.: 5000387905504

  Flavour profile

  Light · Malty · Soft · Honeyed · Dry

  Did you know?

  Bell's took over Blair Athol in 1933 and has used the distillery as the fixed pivot of the blend ever since. The visitor centre in Pitlochry remains one of the busiest in Scotland.

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  • 1pcs.
    33,50EUR
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  Bells Original Blended Scotch Whisky 40%

  Item no.: 22227865397-245-

  There is whisky you read about and whisky you drink. This belongs to the second kind. It has no ambition of ending up in a collection, and that is exactly why it has stayed on the shelf for close to two hundred years.

  The expert's description

  Bell's Original is a Blended Scotch Whisky matured in oak casks and bottled at 40 %.

  The story starts in Perth in 1825, where Thomas Sandeman opened a spirits business. Arthur Bell joined in 1851 and made blending the heart of the trade, and his name is still on the bottle. Through the 1970s and 1980s Bell's was the best selling blend in Britain.

  The backbone of the blend is Blair Athol in Pitlochry, which the house took over in 1933. Malt from a number of other distilleries joins it along with grain whisky, and the result is deliberately kept light and approachable rather than complex.

  Tasting notes

  Nose

  Fresh and light with green apple, cereal and a suggestion of vanilla. A dry malt note sits behind.

  Palate

  Mild and smooth with honey and pale cereal. The malt peeks through halfway without taking up room.

  Finish

  Short and clean with a last touch of malt.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's Original
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
  ABV: 40 %
  Size: 70 CL
  Cask type: Oak casks
  EAN no.: 5000387905474

  Flavour profile

  Light · Fresh · Soft · Malty · Cereal

  Did you know?

  Arthur Bell refused for years to put his own name on the bottles, believing the whisky should speak for itself. It was his sons who put the name on the label after his death in 1900.

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  • 1pcs.
    25,25EUR
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  Ashtray with Bells whiskylogo 1

  Item no.: 22211-100009

  Ashtrays like this one used to sit on every proper bar, back when spirit brands' promotional items were simply part of the furniture.

  About the product

  The ashtray carries the Bells logo in a classic style, a genuine piece of bar memorabilia likely dating from the heyday of promotional advertising in the mid-20th century. Today it's mainly of interest as a collector's item and decor piece rather than something to use.

  A natural pick for anyone collecting whisky-related merchandise, or for giving a home bar an authentic touch of bar history.

  • 1pcs.
    26,75EUR
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  Bells Whiskyjug 1 Waterjug

  Item no.: 22211-222535

  One of these stood on every bar counter in Britain once. The jug was the pub advertising space long before anyone called it branding, and it got filled with cold water every morning as the door was unlocked.

  Please note: This is a used vintage jug, so it may show wear from its years in service. Every example is its own.

  The expert's description

  Bell's Water Jug 1 is a vintage water jug in Bell's livery, made for use behind the bar.

  Water jugs like this were produced by the whisky houses and supplied free to pubs and hotels. In return the brand name sat on the table in front of the guest all evening, and the arrangement ran for decades across Britain and Ireland.

  This jug has been in service, and it shows. Marks of that kind are part of the object rather than a fault in it, and they are why collectors separate working pieces from shelf pieces.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's Water Jug 1
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Water jug
  Edition: Vintage

  Did you know?

  Bell's used the bell as a logo as far back as the 1800s, since the name means bell in English. The same motif turned up on jugs, ashtrays, trays and everything else the house could get into a pub.

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  • 1pcs.
    40,00EUR
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  Bells Whiskyjug 2 Waterjug

  Item no.: 22211-222747

  Two drops of water can change a whisky more than ten minutes in the glass will. That is the entire reason the jug sits on the table at all, and why its spout is narrow enough to be almost annoying.

  Please note: This is a used vintage jug, so it may show wear from its years in service. Every example is its own.

  The expert's description

  Bell's Water Jug 2 is a vintage water jug in Bell's livery, made for use behind the bar.

  The narrow spout is not a design flaw. The jug is built to release water in small measures so the guest can control how much goes into the glass and the bartender avoids pouring too much too fast.

  Jugs like this were supplied to pubs by the whisky houses as part of their marketing. Bell's was the best selling blend in Britain for decades, and the bar ware followed into thousands of bars across the country.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's Water Jug 2
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Water jug
  Edition: Vintage

  Did you know?

  Scottish distilleries themselves use spring water at room temperature when tasting professionally, and they usually dilute to around 20 per cent. That is far more water than most people add at home.

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  • 1pcs.
    26,75EUR
• 

  Bells Whiskyjug 3 Waterjug

  Item no.: 22211-222748

  Whisky collectors chase bottles. Sooner or later some of them work out that the things which stood around the bottles are at least as hard to find today. Jugs, trays and ashtrays were used up and thrown out, which is why they have grown scarce.

  Please note: This is a used vintage jug, so it may show wear from its years in service. Every example is its own.

  The expert's description

  Bell's Water Jug 3 is a vintage water jug in Bell's livery, made for use behind the bar.

  Bar ware from the spirits houses has a collecting field of its own, filed under breweriana in English. The pieces were produced in large numbers but used hard and rarely put away, which is exactly why they are difficult to find in decent condition today.

  This jug carries the mark of a house that has had signage in British pubs since the 1800s. It is a working object with patina rather than a display piece, and it can be put straight back into use on the table at home.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's Water Jug 3
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Water jug
  Edition: Vintage

  Did you know?

  Most British pub jugs were made in the ceramics factories of Staffordshire, which also produced tableware for the domestic market. The factories printed brands to order, and the same shape could end up carrying ten different logos.

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  • 1pcs.
    26,75EUR
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  Bells Whiskyjug 5 Waterjug

  Item no.: 22211-222750

  There is something honest about an object that was never meant as decoration. The jug was made to be grabbed with wet hands, filled in a hurry and put down hard again. It survived anyway.

  Please note: This is a used vintage jug, so it may show wear from its years in service. Every example is its own.

  The expert's description

  Bell's Water Jug 5 is a vintage water jug in Bell's livery, made for use behind the bar.

  The shape is practical before it is pretty. A wide base so it does not tip, a solid handle so it can be caught one-handed, and a spout that doses rather than pours. All of it demanded by a workplace rather than by a designer.

  Bell's supplied bar ware of this kind to pubs across Britain during the years when the house was the biggest blend in the country. The jugs came with the orders and stayed on long after the bottles were emptied.

  Specifications

  Name: Bell's Water Jug 5
  Distillery: Bell's
  Region/Country: Scotland
  Type: Water jug
  Edition: Vintage

  Did you know?

  The water jug is one of the few objects in the bar world that has barely changed shape in a hundred years. The form solves the task, so nobody has found a reason to redo it.

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  • 1pcs.
    26,75EUR