I'll be honest — when I first heard about a whisky carrying a golfer's name, I expected a safe, middle-of-the-road dram designed more for gift boxes than for serious drinking. The Black Bull 18 Year Old Faldo Special Edition proved me completely wrong. This is a blended Scotch with genuine backbone, bottled at 50% ABV, and it drinks like something that was made to be taken seriously.
Black Bull is a brand with a reputation for punching above its weight in the blended Scotch category, and this 18-year-old special edition sits comfortably in that tradition. At £122, it occupies a space where you're competing with some very credible single malts, so the question is whether a blend can justify that price tag. After spending time with this bottle, I think it can.
The 50% ABV is a deliberate choice here, and it's the right one. Too many aged blends get watered down to 40% and lose all their texture in the process. Bottling at 50% means the 18 years of maturation actually come through with weight and presence. You get a whisky that fills the mouth rather than just passing through it. For a blend, that matters — it's the difference between something forgettable and something you remember pouring.
Tasting Notes
I don't have my detailed tasting notes to hand for this particular bottling, so I won't fabricate specifics. What I can say is that the combination of 18 years of age and that higher bottling strength puts this firmly in rich, full-bodied territory. Blended Scotch at this age and proof typically delivers dried fruit weight, baking spice complexity, and a malt character that has had time to develop real depth. Expect something closer to an after-dinner dram than a light aperitif — this is not a whisky that apologises for itself.
The Verdict
At 8.3 out of 10, the Black Bull 18 Faldo Special Edition earns its score by doing what great blended Scotch should do — delivering complexity and drinkability without relying on a single malt pedigree to carry the conversation. The 50% ABV gives it authority. The 18 years of age give it maturity. And the fact that it's a blend means the flavour profile has been deliberately constructed rather than left to chance. That's not a weakness — in the right hands, blending is its own craft, and this bottle reflects that.
Is it worth £122? If you're someone who dismisses blends on principle, probably not — but then you'd be missing out. For drinkers who care about what's in the glass rather than what's on the label, this represents genuine quality at a price that, while not cheap, is competitive for an 18-year-old Scotch at cask strength territory. I've paid more for single malts that gave me less to think about.
Best Served
Pour this neat in a Glencairn and give it five minutes to open up — at 50%, it benefits from a little time in the glass. If the proof feels assertive on the first sip, add just a few drops of water. It'll soften without falling apart, which is always a good sign. This is also a whisky that would make a genuinely excellent Rob Roy — the vermouth and bitters complement that kind of rich, aged blend beautifully, and the higher ABV means it won't get lost behind the other ingredients. Either way, don't rush it. Eighteen years went into the barrel; give it at least eighteen minutes in your glass.
