Blended whiskies have also been improving their game and some labels once written off as learners’ whisky are offering often-surprising quality, especially when you consider the price differential. Blends have always been big sellers since they were invented 200 years ago. For many years it was because the malt distilleries didn’t have their singles available for sale to the public, keeping them instead to sell to blenders. Over the years the great blends that made their names early remained big sellers. Grant’s, The Famous Grouse and Bell’s are still huge sellers in their native Scotland and abroad. But in recent years, bars have tended to promote their single malt offerings ahead of the humble blend. Granted, many bars had premium blends in their wells, stalwarts like Johnnie Walker Black and Chivas Regal, but the back shelf was given over to single malts. But quietly and with little fanfare, the quality of blended whisky has improved, often by using a higher percentage of malt in the mix. And they offer sharp value as well, which is an important consideration in the current climate. And, of course, blends aren’t just from Scotland. Irish, Canadian and American blends are well known and loved labels around the world and here in New Zealand. So this month we decided to try some old favourites and some new faces for our panel tasting. Gathering at The Whisky Shop seemed like the most appropriate plan, so owner Bart Burgers joined me and fellow panellists Dave Batten, Tomas Vikario and Chris Turner in paying homage to these fine whiskies.

Click here to view all the tasting notes as a .PDF