Best of Blends

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 oranges. some vintage smoke, subtle banana notes and green apples.

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: Very spicy, green banana, fruit and some smoke. Sharp, but a surprising amount of creaminess a little further in.  This would surprise a few folks if they were to nose it blind. 

Palate: Classic blended whisky with the vanillas from the grain underpinning the smoke and fruit of the malt. A little thinner than the others tried, but not bad at all. Undoubtably designed for mixing with something longer and sweeter.  

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.

Some of these blends were excellent, to the point where you’d wonder if a hardened single malt drinker would be able to recognise it as a blend (the Royal Household and the Windsor getting special mentions in this field). But overall, this was an excellent example of the diverse properties of a category which provides huge income in to the Scotch whisky industry and gives most single malt whisky distilleries a reason to exists. 


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.

All Hail The Rise Of The Artisan...

Over the last six months, we've tried some simply stupendous whiskies from right across the globe, leading us to the assumption that making the brown stuff is probably more popular than ever.  
From Scotland to Switzerland, everyone, it seems, is getting in on the act.

Recently, I wrote a column in Whisky Magazine about the rise and rise of America's craft distillation movement with much enthusiasm about how the lack of a draconian rulebook was helping to create some incredibly innovative spirits - to all intents and purposes, 'whiskies' in their native environment, but under our own relatively (closed-minded) set of regulations in the UK, almost certainly not.

Balcones,  a Texan distillery seemingly run on elastic bands and invention, recently changed a lot of perceptions about 'craft' distillation and how it has clearly outgrown the patronising 'hobbyist' tag when their distiller, the great Chip Tate, came over for Whisky Live a few months ago.  Without a doubt, his small stall at the event was as busy, if not busier than a few noticeable heavyweight Scottish distillers and his incredible concoction, Rumble (technically not even a whisky, due to its lack of a cereal) was the star of the show in many minds.

Tuthilltown have also ripped up the rule book and made a whisky from the pages, especially when it comes to their unconventional maturation methods, which you can read about here.

Closer to home, Adnams have been steadily moving the benchmark forward in terms of an innovative take on new distilled spirits over in Norfolk, without the slightest bit of interest in what the SWA thinks. And with the news that our good friend Darren Rook is gearing up to undertake London's first whisky distillery in over 100 years, the climate for change feels warmer, brighter and less inclement than ever before.

Of course, all this is happening outside the UK or below the border and I kind of feel sorry for anyone wanting to set up a new whisky distillery in Scotland these days.  Even the smallest craft operation is likely to have someone with a clipboard and a red pen breathing down their neck in no time at all, should they dare utter the 'W' word, or, even more shockingly, try using something other than malted barley in their mash tun.  Yes, the world needs Scotch (now more so than ever, especially in the emerging global markets) but it is also woefully short on innovation, which, like it or not SWA, is an attractive proposition for the next generation of whisky drinkers -  given the rival lure of rum and white spirits.

So I thought it was about time we drew attention to a bit of bedtime reading for the would-be (or frustrated) distiller.

First up comes possibly the best new whisky book in the last ten years. A bold statement, but each page is positively dripping with possibility, inspiration and flavour.  


Alt Whiskeys - Alternative Whiskeys And Techniques For The Adventurous Distiller is a labour of love, eloquently written by Corsair distillery owner Darek Bell.   For those of you who aren't familiar with Corsair, it was founded in 2007 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, with an additional distillery site opened recently in Tennessee.  The copper still which Darek has lovingly maintained is now 100 years old and looks like something you'd expect to see in an over-sized science lab.

When Darek and his business partner Andrew Webber aren't distilling their more conventional whiskies, (like the one below) their minds are clearly wandering through an imaginary field of bizarre crops, working out whether they can make a whisk(e)y from the harvest.    Hopped whiskies, ale-inspired recipes, buckwheat, black rice, blue maize, einkorn, quinoa, spelt - even...cannabis. Corsair have tinkered, furtled and fiddled with so many different ideas, they surely haven't got room to mature anything 'ordinary' in their warehouses.  With a whole chapter dedicated to the use of different smoke (from hickory and grapevines to cherrywood and pimento) Darek demonstrates that there is life outside the conventional, tried-and-tested 'holy trinity' of ingredients.  In short, he's the modern day Galileo to the Catholic Church of established whisky making and we can't recommend 'Alt Whiskies' more highly.
Click here to buy this amazing book and you too can endlessly wind up distillery managers with amazing facts next time you take a distillery tour.

Like Reservoir Dogs, Corsair are
coming to cut off the ears (of corn) from the establishment

Here's one of Corsair's more conventional recipes, for which the distillery have won a few gongs over the past 18 months.

Corsair - 100% Rye Whiskey - 46%

Nose: An initial spiciness, (think anise, cloves and woody cinnamon) followed by crushed black pepper, some meaty notes, roasted nuts and pipe tobacco.  Given time, notes of fresh vanilla start to emerge and with a dash of water, a salty, buttery note begins to develop.

Palate: A big hit of white pepper, followed up swiftly by more woody spice, (cinnamon and clove) 

a deft touch of vanilla, some dried fruit sweetness (figs and prunes) and more aromatic pipe tobacco. 

Finish: Very spicy, with dried ginger, white pepper and a little lingering vanilla round out the diminishing flavours on the drying palate. 

Overall: Big, bold and spicy.  This is a monster of a rye. It is youthful, but has a full-bodied character kicking you firmly in the nuts from the get go.  It would nail the first Manhattan cocktail of the night, that's for sure. 

On the subject of top whisky books, a certain Mr Ian Buxton has got round to updating his highly successful tome 101 Whiskies To Try Before You Die, giving it a wider 'world whisky' scope (although he shamefully missed the one above... ;-p )  The new edition is full of interesting drams to try from Austria to Wales and is well worth a look.

In fact -  it just so happens that we have one to give away...

If you fancy getting your hands on a copy, it's very easy.  Send us your thoughts about 'One Thing You'd Really Like To Try Before You Die' and the funniest, most entertaining entry will win a copy.  Extra points for rudeness, skullduggery and downright shamelessness!

Email your entries to 101whiskies@caskstrength.net - Competition closes midnight 7th July. 

Bowmore 1964 Fino Cask Preview Tasting

Hot on the heels of The Balvenie's fabulous Tun 1401 Batch 5 (which we reviewed yesterday), comes another brand new whisky release, albeit in a slightly more audacious bottle.

Bowmore has steadily become one of the most collectible whiskies in recent years - the Bowmore Trilogy collection now fetching a tidy sum at auction, alongside many of their other limited release and elderly bottlings.

All this seems a shame.  Old Bowmore seems destined never to be opened, poured between friends and enjoyed, which somewhat misses the point.  Without doubt, several of the best whiskies Caskstrength have ever experienced have been Bowmore bottlings from the 60's or 70's and there is something truly remarkable about this era of whisky making at the distillery.  The legendary Bowmore 'tropical fruit' has been hotly debated by malt enthusiasts for years, making it one of the most unique flavour profiles for any distillery, let alone one sitting amongst the smoky giants of Islay.

On Wednesday this week,  'a brand new' old Bowmore was unveiled for release later this month -  a 1964 Fino cask release, bottled at 46 years old.  The distillery have previously bottled a cask of this style (a 38 year old) but in keeping with the 40 year old release in 2010, this new release, with an outturn of only 72 bottles, has been bottled into an exquisite hand blown vessel, crafted by Brodie Nairn and Nichola Burns, two of Scotland's most renowned glassblowers. The sterling silver stopper was produced on commission by Hamilton & Inches (Jewellers to the Queen no less) and the whole package looks suitably impressive.

But as we like to remind ourselves on an almost daily basis, clearly the liquid within must be the star of the show and at the tasting, the whisky was poured from a simple sample bottle by Bowmore's knowledgable brand ambassador Gordon Dundas, leaving the rest to the imagination.

The benchmark for top end Bowmore releases has been set extremely high by the likes of Black, White and Gold Bowmore and this Fino cask bottling comes from a parcel of stock laid down at the same time -  and at £8,000 a bottle, this is certainly not a whisky which can afford to be a bit 'meh'.  At 42.9% it is also getting dangerously close to being lost forever.  The mind boggles at the thought of something this old being vatted into oblivion.

Bowmore - 1964 - Fino Cask Bottling -  42.9% - 72 bottles - £8,000

Nose: Well, there it is. An explosion of tropical fruit. Papaya, passion fruit, banana, coconut, fresh peach and kiwi. Place this next to a bowl of freshly prepared fruit salad and with a blindfold, I doubt you'd be able to pick the two apart from one another. It is perhaps more fruity than the aforementioned Bowmore Trilogy releases, but has an additional, unusual aromatic dryness, fresh, crisp notes of clean linen, lemon zest and light oak.  Given a little time, a faint waft of smoke also emerges, making this about as perfect a nose as you could probably get from a Bowmore.  Amazing stuff. 

Palate:  Initially dry and salty, but then snapping back into the fanfare of fruit. Passion fruit, cream soda and parma violets (without the soapiness) mix with zesty Amalfi lemon tart and fragrant wafts of smoke.  Blackcurrant notes also emerge after a few minutes, alongside a creamy vanilla custard. Jam-packed with flavour.

Finish:  The light smoke begins to fade, leaving peaches and cream, some sweet blackcurrant and a slight return of the passion fruit.  I was experiencing echoes of this for about an hour after we had finished at the tasting, which gives you an indication of where this whisky is coming from.

Overall:  Yes, this costs £8,000 a bottle, which is an extraordinary amount of money, (you can buy the 38 year old release here for a lot cheaper - well a mere snip at £4,999) but it is no doubt a landmark whisky in the history of Bowmore releases.  Elegant, delicate and superbly balanced, this is up there with the likes of Black, Gold and White and dare I say it, probably eclipses them all for the sheer fruitiness it displays.  

The Balvenie Unveil new Tun 1401 Batch 5

In a busy week for new whisky releases (and some gins!) we find ourselves at the newly refurbished Savoy Hotel on The Strand, where a veritable gem of a whisky is about to be unveiled.  We've been fans of the Tun 1401 series and batch 2 stood out for its superb complexity, the exquisite balance  of both elderly sherry and bourbon casks, which David Stewart has married together making this one to definitely savour.

After a brace of other batches destined for the US and travel retail, the legendary tun has been back in action with Batch 5 arriving on these shores shortly. The bigger batch size represents the popularity of this whisky (2862 bottles) and this time around the marriage has been bought together from nine casks: four sherry butts and five American oak hoggies. The youngest whisky in this batch is apparently 21 years old and the oldest from 1966, with the majority of the sherried whisky coming from the 1970s. 

Later this year, David Stewart celebrates his 50th year in the business and will become, by far and away, the longest serving whisky maker in Scotland. It is to his credit that this whisky has seen the light of day and one wonders just how many more batches we will see with the Stewart stamp of approval on them -  with any luck, he's not about to pass the marrying tun on to anyone else!  

The Balvenie - Tun 1401 - Batch 5 - 50.1% - 2862 bottles - RRP £161

Nose: Cocoa powder, dried ginger, musty mossy notes, combined with woody spice and some rich dark honey all nestle against some sweeter vanilla notes, coconut, some lighter citrus (blood orange) and dried apricot.  A dash of water really opens this up and gives it more vibrancy with the rich sherry notes melting into the background and the vanilla, chocolate and citrus occupying the pound seats. 

Palate: Waxy Manuka honey, some rich dark chocolate, black cherries and some heavier sherried notes all hit first, with devastating effect. There is so much going on here, it virtually bludgeons the palate - but being vaguely masochistic, your tongue is left wanting more, which it delivers with a deft left hook of vanilla sweetness, some of the lighter citrus and more woody spices. Bang Bang. 

Finish: Lingering notes of cocoa, wax and rich honey.  All the signature character you could hope for.  

Overall: This is unquestionably a superb piece of whisky making and sits right alongside Batch 2 for its solid display of marrying together both dominant sherried whiskies and lighter bourbon-influenced whiskies.  If you're looking for something extra special which will act as the 'dah dah' moment in your whisky cabinet then Tun 1401 Batch 5 is an excellent choice. For those who can't stump up the £161,  grab yourself a bottle of The Balvenie's Doublewood, which shares the classic formula of bourbon and sherry, for a fraction of the cost. 

Professor Ampleforth's Cask-Aged Gin

Curiouser and curiouser.  The mysterious packages that seem to arrive through the door at Caskstrength towers.  This month we've been exploring some other spirits alongside whisky and this rather unique little number caught our eye.

It is from the burgeoning labs run by the wonderfully eccentric Cornelius Ampleforth (aka Master Of Malt's Ben Ellefsen) and takes the gin category to yet another dimension.  This unusual range of spirits (which included the original Bathtub Gin, an Old Tom gin and the downright crazy Rumbullion.  The Bathtub bottling exuded all manner of wonderful botanicals, compounded, rather than redistilled in spirit.  It gave the gin a slight tint, hinting at times gone by and tasted absolutely tremendous.  There's been some snobbishness about compound gins in the past, but we say b****cks to that, if it's done with all the finesse (and probable irresponsibility) as Mr Ampleforth.

Hot on its heels, comes a Cask Aged Gin.  The lab has obtained some 50 litre octave sized casks, which will have previously held both bourbon and sherry.  Banging the gin in for a little snooze (apparently 6 months) has resulted in this -  certainly the first cask aged gin we've come across - and looking very much like a young whisky.

Those of a nervous white spirit disposition, look away now. We're about to destroy all that you believe in... ;-)

Professor Cornelius Ampleforth's Cask-Aged Gin - Batch 1 - 43.3%

Nose: The great news is that this experiment has whole-heartedly paid off. Notes of juniper, dry, musty cassia bark, coriander and citrus peel burst through, alongside a slightly buttery, sweet vanilla note. Nothing is overpowering. If this has been in a cask for six months, it hasn't dominated the spirit, just given it a nicely rounded note. It seems less spirity than other gins and a bit 'fatter'.  Lovely.

Palate: Oh, this is where all the cask influence has gone - methinks from something that might have held an Oloroso sherry?  Really spicy and meaty, with cloves, some Moroccan lamb (seriously...) lemon peel, some bay notes and lots of rich, oily mouth coating vanilla.  This will make a very unusual Martini, but a great one, none-the-less.

Finish: The juniper notes return to the palate as it dries out, alongside, citrus zest, a touch of cardamon and a whisker of dry wood spice.  

Overall: If you happen to like blended whisky (hmmm, anyone? ;-) ) and a quality gin, then this is going to be right up your street.  It doesn't overstep the gin category totally, still retaining its aromatic balance, but offers something a little more alongside it.