Follow on Twitter:@WhiskyPassionsBlended whisky is and always has been where the money is in whisky. Going into a large supermarket and seeing an entire shelf full of Bells is testament to that. You can see Johnnie Walker along the side of the track on many a Grand Prix; especially on Monte Carlos, so he must be doing alright. To briefly introduce blended whisky; bottling's will contain a percentage of malt whisky; this is whisky that has been oak aged in barrels for a minimum of three years and a day; but also grain whisky.
Grain whisky is fermented from grain rather than barley; but also is distilled in 'Coffey still'; named after the inventor Aeneas Coffey. The Coffey still enabled mass distillation of grain whisky on a scale much larger than a tradition pot still; and as such much of what was produced was blended with malt whisky to create a gentler drink.
Link: Whisky:Nature Vs. Nurture Part 01
But does blended whisky have any relevance to the 'true' whisky drinker; the connoisseur? To explore this we'll discuss blended whisky's in four main categories:
- Blended malt whisky; bottles containing only a blend of single malt whisky's. This includes Johnnie Walker Blue Label and Big Peat by Douglas Laing.
- Luxury blended whisky; including such as Johnnie Walker Blue Label or Blue Hanger.
- Premium blended whisky; including offerings such as Johnnie Walker Platinum or bottling's from the new wave of whisky blenders such as Compass Box.
- Standard blended whisky; the whisky's such as Johnnie Walker, Ballantine and Chivas you see on supermarket shelves , carrying Age Statements such as 12 yrs Old.
- Sub-primary blended whisky; the Bells, Teachers and Famous Grouse style whisky. Three years and a day spent in casks and then anything vaguely drinkable swilled together and bottled.
Blended malt whisky's can offer excellent value for money and can be alot of fun. As a fan of peated Isaly whisky I have enjoy the Douglas Laing Big Peat Christmas Editions which offer cask strength ABV and blend casks from a variety of Islay distilleries including Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, Laphroaig, and even Port Ellen. Reading that list of names should show people that there is no need to be snobbish about blended malt whisky; after all bottles of the long closed Port Ellen sell for into the thousands! Big Peat is however available for around £35 and the Christmas Editions for around £10 more. As Douglas Laing is an established independent bottler of some note, this really is a brand that you can trust for a consistent level of quality.
The whisky in these blended malts would otherwise invariably go into bottles of single malt whisky. They are producing using traditional copper 'pot stills' and are able to develop a far more interesting character in a far shorter time than grain whisky. Grain whisky is known for needing along time, maybe in excess of 20 yrs in the cask to produce anything particularly interesting or worthwhile.
Johnnie Walker also produce a blended malt whisky. Johnnie Walker Green Label is a blend of four of the parent company Diageo's distilleries; Caol Ila, Craggenmore, Linkwood and Talisker. I personally haven't tried Green Label as up until recently the three different colours and three different Explorer Editions of Johnnie Walker I had were deeply unfulfilling. However Johnnie Walker Double Black is a whisky of reasonable character and is a fun flavour some whisky worth the £30 I spent on it; as such I will definitely purchase the recently returned to our shelves Green Label. It is currently available in Morrisons for £40 and baring in mind that this is a 15 yr Old product is surely worth a try.
Both the Green label and Double Black are award winners at the 2017 World Whisky Awards in the categories of 'Best Blended Malt Whisky and'Best Blended Whisky'.
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