Blended Scotch Suggestions

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profpar

Can't Leave
Dec 8, 2011
317
0
Buford, Georgia
During this year I have become acquainted with the "Water of Life" aka whisk(e)y. I have tried bourbon (Makers Mark and Fireball), Irish whiskey (Tullamore Dew) and now a blended Scotch (Duggans Dew). of these the blended Scotch has the most wonderful flavor. (A single-malt is not in budget). I. Am wondering what other Scotch blends I might try in the future. Any suggestions?

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
Famous Grouse makes a decent blended scotch. Johnny Walker Black is also quite drinkable (I would avoid JW Red). My favourite blended scotch is Chivas Regal, though it's on the pricier side for a blended whisky.

 
Dec 24, 2012
7,195
456
Interesting postscript on Famous Grouse. It was of course Margaret Thatcher's drink of choice and during production of the film The Iron Lady, the filmakers used period authentic bottles for the different time periods depicted in the film.

 

pitchfork

Lifer
May 25, 2012
4,030
605
If they still make it, Clan McGregor is definitely in your budget. Chivas Regal and Famous Grouse are better, but haven't bought them in years, so not sure how much they cost these days.

 

beefeater33

Lifer
Apr 14, 2014
4,063
6,118
Central Ohio
Try a bottle of Old Pultaney. Its a single malt, but priced about the same as the blends........

Its good stuff, been around a long time, and to me much better than the blended stuff in the same price range...

 

hugodrax

Can't Leave
Jan 24, 2013
448
669
Buchanan's 12 is absurdly cheap and really quite good. Otherwise, it's Black Label all the way for me.

 

cgrd

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 7, 2012
186
8
Winnipeg, MB
You may want to check out "Pure Malt" blends. This means it's blended from single malts, and the year indicates none of them would be aged less. For example, Glendower's Pure Malt 8 year means it's blended from single malts aged for 8 or more years. The result is a delicious whiskey that punches far above its weight for the price. A bottle of Glendower will set me back $40 in Canada, compared to the $30 a bottle of Famous Grouse would cost.

 

philobeddoe

Lifer
Oct 31, 2011
7,403
11,568
East Indiana
A bottle of Laphroaig 10 yr. costs me $40.00 at my local liquor store, most decent blends are going to run somewhere near that, so single malts may not be as highly priced as you have been led to believe. I can think of at least twenty very good single malts that can be had for less than $50.00 a bottle. You don't have to spend $100.00+ to get a wonderful single malt whisky.

 

alexnorth

Part of the Furniture Now
Apr 7, 2015
603
3
The naked grouse is a decent blended but I agree with poster above, you don't need to spend a fortune to get a decent single malt. There are good blend available though, I've heard good things about monkey shoulder for example

 

johnnyreb

Lifer
Aug 21, 2014
1,961
612
Prof,
Try Ballantine. It's at the price point you are probably looking for; you can even get it at the grocery store; and it's much better than most at that price point.

 

jimbo44

Might Stick Around
Aug 2, 2010
62
0
Difficult to say which is best as they taste differently depending on the base malts used in the blend - White Horse uses Lagavulin, Johnny Walker uses Cardhu, for example - very different.
I agree with Peck that Chivas Regal is one of the best (but one of the most expensive) as it is a blend of malts with less grain whisky. In UK, Famous Grouse and Teachers are also favoured.
Try a few in all price ranges(except anything that comes in a plastics bottle!).

 

drunkblowhard

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 30, 2015
112
0
I'm new here, and EXTREMELY cautious about shooting my mouth off about anything pipe related because I'm a complete pipe rookie and I'm here to lurk and learn.
Whisk(e)y however... That happens to be my profession.
Some of the above posters are 100 percent right, a single malt doesn't need to cost an arm and a leg. I think the best bang for the buck single malt on the market is Deanston Virgin Oak. I don't remember if it has an age statement on the bottle or not, but it's a single malt that will run you in the neighborhood of 35 bucks. And it has the added benefit of being absolutely delicious.
If blended is how you want to go however, then I would love to steer you towards a very small segment of the market that are called "pure malts" or "vatted malts." Without getting way too nerdy for anyone's good, these are one hundred percent blended malt whiskies, and are super delicious. Two that come to mind are called Hogshead and Sheepdip. There aren't a lot of vatted malts on the market, and they're not the easiest to find, but a little bit of legwork on your end will be greatly rewarded.
Basically it's the same advice that I have seen the pipe community give to new pipe smokers, find a great brick-and-mortar (booze) shop with people who know what they're talking about. They will either have these gems in stock, or be willing and able to find them for you.
Be sure to add an ice cube or a little bit of water, sit back, and enjoy!
Cheers!

 

agnosticpipe

Lifer
Nov 3, 2013
3,332
3,412
In the sticks in Mississippi
My favorite blended scotch is White Horse, about $15 a bottle around here, but I like Black Bottle too, even though it's about $10 more. Don't let the low prices fool you, as these are very nice drinkable scotches. Once or twice a year I come up enough coin to get a bottle of single malt. I always go for something from Islay as I really love the rich, smoky flavors of them.

 
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