We've done quite a bit on caskstrength.net recently about
blended whisky and the worldwide appeal of this section of the whisky market.
One of the biggest differences between the single malts
that we all love and blended Scotch whisky, is the proliferation of brand names
across the sector. Each and every blend is made to it's own unique recipe; a
little of bit of this and a little bit of that means even just 1% difference
between blends can lead to a change in flavour and therefore a new brand or
expression within a series. And with over a hundred working malt distilleries
and seven grain distilleries in Scotland alone, there are almost unlimited ways to construct a
blend.
The result is that the world is awash with blended
whisky. A quick search shows that respected online retailer, The WhiskyExchange, lists over 252 items in their ‘Blended Scotch Whisky’ section with
the cheapest full bottle of Scotch down at £11.95 and the most expensive way up
there with any good single malt at £150,000 for a bottle of Royal Salute 45
Year Old.
Now, there are plenty of blends that our UK-based readers
will have heard of: Johnnie Walker, Bells, Teachers, Chivas Brothers but there
are also a lot of blends which sell very well around the world, which you may
not have heard of, or realised their value in specific areas of the globe.
Dimple, Windsor and 100 Pipers are just a few examples of blends that sell well
around the world, but you might not be fully aware of, if you live in the UK or
certain parts of Europe. Black Dog, for example, sold around 1m bottles in
India in 2009, more than the entire single malt category did in that year,
but have you ever seen a bottle...? It is brands such as these who seemingly quietly
(or not so in the case of a brands like J&B or White Horse) go about their
business selling oddles of bottles and help to financially support the
continued growth of the single malt sector. Note: Johnnie Walker is estimated
to have sold 18 million 9 litre cases in 2011. That’s quite a lot of Scotch!
A lot of these blends just aren’t available in the UK
market but are heavily promoted in the countries where they have taken a
foothold over the past century (or however long they’ve been sold in that
market), and so it was fantastic to sit down with Maureen Robinson, one of the
Master Blenders at Diageo, to try some of their best selling blends which are
either unavailable in the UK market, or are expressions which we would usually
never really look at (eg. Bells).
The afternoon session was to encompass nine different
Diageo blends from 6 different brands with the express purpose of nosing and tasting
the blends to see how they differ and to look at the key flavour profile within
each expression.
However, there are issues with approaching a blended
whisky from a nosing / tasting angle, as you would a single malt. Many of the
brands which sell so well around the world are not poured in to a nosing glass,
with a drop of water added and savoured in the same way a premium single malt
would be.
No, sir!
Most are poured into a long glass or a small tumbler and missed
with anything from green tea to coke to ginger ale, sometimes even dropped into
pints of beer... each to their own, I guess. But if the sales of these products
helps to keep the single malt market alive, then it has my full support and
backing. When I worked at Island Records, every sale of a Sugababes or Mika album
just helped us to have more money to release another PJ Harvey record or sign
an Amy Winehouse... as such, I have only noted nose and palate on these blends.
We kicked off with a whisky which I have long wanted to
try: Windsor. Mainly available in the Far East (Korea is the key market),
Windsor was launched only back in 1996 and has a range which covers a 12 years
old, 17 years old, 21 years old, Reserve
and XR. Apparently the 17 year old has a luminous label which glows in the dark!
Windsor – 12 Years Old – 40% abv
Nose: Apples, spices and apricots. A hint of Ikea warehouse, too. Woody spices and a touch of honey. Sweet and well balanced.
Palate: A nice hit of vanilla and smooth green apple flavours, this whisky gives fruits and malt, along with toasted brown bread. With a dash of water chocolate orange, cloves and minute amount of smoke.
Second up was the fourth best selling blended whisky in
the world, J&B. Named after it’s earliest developers, the wine importers
and wholesalers Justerini and
Brooks, this whisky was founded way back in 1749 and is styled as a ‘party
whisky’ in the brands key markets of Spain, France, South Africa, United
States and Portugal. The range includes some oddly named whiskies such as ‘Jet’
and ‘Exception’...
J&B – Reserve (15 years old) – 40% abv
Nose: Ginger, spices, brown sugar, lemons, limes and
Palate: Vanilla creams and orange again. Very light and mixable. Would go well with ginger ale. Given time in the glass, a little dash of liquorice and rich toffee.
The third whisky we tried was one which seem ubiquitous
in the UK market, Bells. Key markets for this blend include the UK, South Africa, the Nordics, Spain and Brazil. Established in 1825 by Arthur Bell, the regular
expression of this whisky used to be an 8 years old, but has recently become
and No Age Statement (and a different configuration from the 8 years old,
according to Maureen). The range includes Bell's Original, Bell's Special
Reserve (UK only), and those lovely (!) Bell's Decanters, of which one is
released each Christmas and have something of a collectors following.
Bells – Original – 40% abv
Nose:
Palate:
Fourth on our tasting mat was a whisky I have never encountered before: Old Parr. The obvious reason for never having come across this blend is that the key markets for this whisky are Japan, Mexico, Colombia and Venezuela. Not a regular visitor to any of these countries, this was a real treat to try a blend with such a strong foothold in these markets. The range is quite extensive with 12, 15 and 18 years old expressions. Legend has it that Thomas Parr (known as "Old Par") was Britain's oldest man, at 152 years of age. I’ll have what he’s having, please...
Old Parr – Original (12
Years Old) – 43% abv
Nose: Malty and smoky. Simple but appealing. Given time, strawberries, woody spice, subtle smoke and bran. A little floral soap with water.
Palate: Rich fruits with a big oaky hit. Quite a complex blend this - the smoke is defined and quite bold, alongside sponge cake and buttery vanilla.
Phew... we’re only four whiskies in to this mammouth
tasting of 9 different blends. At this point, we were going to try a whisky
which Neil and I hold in high regard, having tried some of the older
expressions from the 1950’s and 1960’s which we absolutely loved, but we’d not
had a chance to try a ‘contemporary’ bottling for a while. White Horse is famed
for using a large proportion of Lagavulin whisky (the distillery was one of the
‘White Horse Distilleries’ and sported a large white horse painted on the roof
of one of the warehouses back in the mid 1900’s). Sold predominantly in Japan, Brazil, Greece, Great Britain,
Africa and The United States, this brand was launched in1890 and has
1900, 12 Years Old and ‘Logan’ as the key expressions in the range.
White Horse – Fine Old –
40% abv
Nose: Complex fruit and green veg, rhubarb crumble. Some stewed plums and a dash of smoke further in.
Palate: Initially notes of bitter orange, lemon zest and smoke. Peaches and cream and some light malt notes. As the palate dries, some sooty notes.
White Horse – Logan (12
Years Old) – 43% abv
Nose: Rich and smoky, but also very mellow with big sherry tones. Some rubbery notes and burnt sugar, with a pronounced sootiness within the smoke.
Palate: Sherry and fruits, this gives off a 'fizzy' mouthfeel. Odd but likeable. Rich, oily and rather 'grown up'.
The final three whiskies
were all from the same portfolio, Buchanan’s. Founded in 1884 by James
Buchanan, this whisky has found a foothold within the Latin community, being most
popular in Venezuela, United
States, Mexico and Colombia. The range includes Buchanan's Red Seal,
Buchanan's Deluxe 12 year old (think barley sugar, hints of medicinal smoke and honey - oily and rich) Buchanan's Special Reserve 18 year old (fantastically waxy, with notes of sweetened cream, stewed fruit, sandalwood and liquorice) and Royal
Household, only available in Japan and rare as hen's teeth in the UK. One would imagine your friendly local specialist retailer beginning with 'Wh' and finishing with 'isky Exchange' might be able to help, should you want to seek one out.
Buchanan's – Royal Household
– 40% abv
Nose: Deep aromas of smoke, spices and sherry underpinned with vanillas. Further in -tangerines, some vintage peat , sugary wine gums. Really excellent.
Palate: Iron bru, red wine as the malt and grains working well to give excellent complexity but also real balance. Very rich, rounded and complex. Extraordinary that we don't get this in the UK - a great shame!
The tasting was a real
treat and served to highlight the different flavour profiles between different
blends, the art of blending and construction of these whiskies, as well as
creating lineage within a certain brand, making sure that the key aspects of
flavour profile are maintained throughout the range.
Far from being an sector of the whisky market to be sneered at, blends should be celebrated for their flavours; if you haven’t got a bottle of blended whisky at home, make sure you go out and get a couple, you may well be surprised at what you taste.
