What is a Blended Whisky? An ultimate Guide to Understand it

A blended whisky is a mixture of two or more whiskies from different distilleries. It is crafted to create a new, enhanced flavor that is more attractive than the original whiskies. A blended whisky is a proportional mixture of two or more whiskies. A blended whisky might have more attractive or enhanced features than the original one. Most of the whiskies in India are blended whiskies that are manufactured by foreign distilleries. The main purpose behind this kind of mixing is to achieve new, fresh tastes in the market.

History

In the 19th century, it was the first time these ideas struck to achieve new tastes by mixing two or more whiskies. Andrew Usher is considered the founder of this idea, as he crafted the first blended whisky, which attracted more attention than his imagination. After this, blended mixing got attention all over the world and was widely accepted by people. In India, for the first time in the 1960s, blended whisky had been produced, but today most of the renowned whiskies in India are blend whiskies.”

Process

The process for the creation is simple, but it is important to carry out each step. Here is the list of the complete processes that are carefully followed by all the producers.

The selection of whiskies

The selection of whiskies for the blending is one of the most crucial phases, as a producer must be clear in his mind about what kind of taste he wants to achieve: smoky, peppery, or sweet.

Blending

Blending is the second important phase to creating a premium blend whisky because a definite proportion is always needed to create premium quality whisky.

Maturation

Maturation is the last step to achieving a blended brand. The resulting blended whisky is matured in different barrels for a different life span.

Most common types of blended whisky in 2024

Here are the top four most common blended type whiskies in 2024.

Blended Scotch Whisky

Blended Scotch whisky is a whisky made in Scotland by combining different types of malted grain whiskies from different distilleries. Blended Scotch whiskies are the most popular blended whiskies in the world due to their unique taste and features. Single malt Scotch whisky is one of the most popular types of blended whisky, as it is made from pure barley and matured in a single distillery. Johnnie Walker, Ballantine’s Whisky, Mansion House, 100 Piper Scotch Whisky, and Teacher’s Whisky are some of the best-blended whiskies.

Irish Blended Whisky

When you think of a smooth and mellow whisky, your first choice should be a blended whisky, which is produced in Ireland from malt and grain whiskies and is known as blended Irish whisky. It is important to note that Irish blended whisky is always crafted from Irish whiskies only. Jameson, Bushmills, and Tullamore Dew are some of the top-rated blended Irish whiskies in the world.

Canadian blended whiskies

Those whiskies that have been made in Canada from Canadian whiskies are called Canadian blended whiskies. These are usually smooth, light, and budget-friendly whiskies.

American blended whiskies

The blended whiskies that are produced in the United States of America by mixing malt and grain whiskies by carefully proportional mixing and maturing are called American blended whiskies.