Knowing and Understanding Blends

Although single malts have attracted a great deal of interest in recent years, more than 95% of Scotch consumed worldwide is blended whisky.

The object of blending has always been to "soften," in a sense, the harsher characteristics of the individual malt whiskies in order to produce a whisky that would appeal to a broader spectrum of the population.

As the word implies, blends are the result of mixing different whiskies together, including both single malts and grain whiskies. Obviously, several decisions go into determining the final makeup of a blended Scotch, from the quality of the barley chosen to the amount of peat to be used in the malt kiln, from the determination of when to start and stop collecting the spirit from the second distillation to the blender's judgment about when each particular cask is ready to be added to the blend.

This last step is, according to many experts, an art as well as science. Each Scotch house has its own closely guarded blend, and while certain whiskies are not compatible, the bringing together of the right combination of malts and grains will determine the characteristics of the brand. Usually, there are 20 to 25 different single malt whiskies used in a blend, with the rest being grain whisky.

Edited from:
Knowing and Understanding Distilled Spirits
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