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Blended 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.
The general issue with blended whisky; that is whisky that comprises both malt whisky and grain whisky is that the softness or relatively young grain whisky distilled in a Coffey still reduces the impact of the more complex, and often more challenging malt whisky, distilled in a traditional copper pot still. Of course this was initially the point of blended whisky, to make the product more approachable, more drinkable, especially with ice.
Luxury blended whisky continues to suffer from this issue. Johnnie Walker Blue Label is an exceptionally smooth and rich drink, but this is its defining feature; the taste has been downplayed to the point where it barely exists anymore. As such it seems to be aimed primarily at pretentious, fashion conscious types who like to pretend that they like whisky.
The general issue with blended whisky; that is whisky that comprises both malt whisky and grain whisky is that the softness or relatively young grain whisky distilled in a Coffey still reduces the impact of the more complex, and often more challenging malt whisky, distilled in a traditional copper pot still. Of course this was initially the point of blended whisky, to make the product more approachable, more drinkable, especially with ice.
Luxury blended whisky continues to suffer from this issue. Johnnie Walker Blue Label is an exceptionally smooth and rich drink, but this is its defining feature; the taste has been downplayed to the point where it barely exists anymore. As such it seems to be aimed primarily at pretentious, fashion conscious types who like to pretend that they like whisky.
There are other options of course. Compass Box is certainly a company that strives to be different, innovative, and produce products of high quality. Limited Editions such as the evocatively named 'Enlightenment' and 'This is Not a Luxury Whisky' provide a great deal more interest for your money. The luxury brand Blue Hanger falls somewhere in between Johnnie Walker and Compass Box in style and can be picked up from around £80. Whilst I'm no particular fan, Blue Hanger is a bottling with considerably more character than Blue Label as well as being unchillfiltered and naturally coloured; something that Johnnie Walker cannot boast.
As usual the value in the market can be found in the 'Premium Bottling's' as these are able to balance quality and price. Bearing in mind that grain whisky is cheaper to produce than malt whisky, you will find many of these bottling's available for less than their competitors. I have found that I much prefer the taste of a company that is developing its product for whisky drinkers, listening to their feedback and evolving both their existing products and their product line. Here Compass Box stands proudly offering whisk's such as Asyla for around the £30 mark. Asyla is unchillfiltered and its natural colour; which prior to Compass Box's founder John Glaser was unheard of for a blended whisky.
Glaser is a man who is dedicated to blending whisky with a 'Gestaltian' philosophy of making the 'whole greater than the sum of its parts. As such its a company I respect and would recommend you too check out their website which goes into great detail into how each whisky is put together.
In the same price bracket as Asyla is the far more widely available Johnnie Walker Double Black. I mentioned this whisky is an award winner for best Blended Whisky and is the first Johnnie Walker that interested me in any way. At around £30 it gives plenty of flavour by putting in extra whisky from its Islay distilleries (I suspect Lagavulin in particular). Also this whisky has been matured in heavily charred barrels. Basically before putting whisky into barrels the insides are exposed to heat to blacken them and get the wood sugars exposed and working with the spirit. Heavy charring produces darker sugars and extra spice notes such as black pepper, cloves and cinnamon. This all combines to make Double Black one of the best blended whisky's out there and has a superior flavour to the majority of single malts on supermarket shelves. Add that to the familiar square bottle looking extremely handsome in midnight blue; all you need to do Johnnie is put a cork on it rather than a ridiculous screw top!
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