Bell's Original

★★★★★★★★★★No ratings yet

A long-standing British favourite among blended Scotch. Built around Blair Athol malt, it balances malty sweetness, nuts and gentle spice — an everyday dram that suits a highball.

Details

Brand	Bell's
Distillery	—
Origin	Scotland
Style	Blended
Age	NAS
ABV	40%
Cask	—

Flavour profile

Smoky
Sweet
Fruity
Spicy
Rich

* Editorial estimate.

Tasting notes

Nose: Sweet grain, caramel and a hint of nuts.
Palate: Light-bodied, with malty sweetness, dried fruit and a little spicy bite.
Finish: Short and clean, with faint smoke and spice.

* Editorial tasting notes.

How to enjoy it

Highball
On the rocks
Cocktails

Easy-going and affordable, it's ideal in a highball or with water. In the UK it's also a popular mixer with ginger ale.

Food pairing

Fish and chips, fried chicken, sausages — casual bar food of all kinds.

Background & production

A blended Scotch whose producer, Arthur Bell & Sons, traces its roots to 1798; it is now made by Diageo. From 1851 Arthur Bell began blending malts to create a more consistent whisky, and Bell's remains one of Britain's best-selling whiskies.

With demand surging after the end of US Prohibition, the company bought two distilleries in 1933: Blair Athol and Dufftown. Blair Athol in the Highlands is still the heart malt, supported by Dufftown from Speyside, Glenkinchie from the Lowlands and Caol Ila from Islay.

It blends up to around 40 malt and grain whiskies and is bottled at 40% ABV.