A combination of spirits distilled at more than one distillery in Scotland
MacNair’s Lum Reek Peated 21 Year Old blended malt whisky review: A deliciously well-aged blend, just enough peat smoke to make me think of older style single malts and also robust but subtle or rather soft sherry influences too – well integrated and comfortable. I suspect this blend has been constructed to reminisce some older Speyside examples when peat smoke and sherry maturation were the norm. Works beautifully. 89/100
MacNair’s Lum Reek Peated 12 Year Old blended malt whisky review: A very different blend, lighter on the palate and more wood influence. It feels to me like they have shifted the balance much in favour of the Speyside malt(s) here as it is much lighter and more vaporous and the peat influence feels diluted by more than age alone. 84/100
MacNair’s Lum Reek Peated blended malt whisky review: A great blended malt, a little youthful but this brings power to the Islay smoke, some nice floral and herbal elements in here but difficult to assign much specific cask influences. The result is very drinkable and unsurprisingly a complexity that you could easily believe this was a single malt. Reminds me a little of some early Kilchoman’s but with much less power in the peat influence. 83/100
The Naked Grouse whisky review: I’m still not convinced by this blend, it is very pleasing and all but just too polished/smooth/blendy in places that I see it as a detraction from the whole. 75/100
Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Years Old whisky review: Fresher and fruitier than I remember, slightly odd nutty and zestiness to it like peanut butter and lime curd on toast. – I guess peat and crisp sea salt from the official notes hints at what they are trying to attain. 83/100
Scallywag blended malt whisky review: More fuller flavoured than I remember and much more complex too. Still quite fruity in nature and just a little more spice and wood than I prefer but a decent blended malt nonetheless. I guess my reservation lies in the surreptitious use of sherry casks in this blend which perhaps represents the dichotomy of Speysides’ output today but I don’t feel is indicative of the regions flavour profile in general. 78/100
The Exceptional Blend 1st Edition whisky review: A heavily-sherry influenced blend which may draw more from the casks than it does its component parts, I guess as with any blend it is hard to tell. Very well put together, a lot lighter and more summer fruits on the palate than the nose suggests which is a pleasant surprise. Very drinkable. 81/100
The Lost Distilleries Blend Batch 11 whisky review: A lovely blend that smacks of aged stock and I wouldn’t have been surprised if this was blended (or even single) malt. Quite a complex dram but that is unsurprising considering choice of components has been arrived at by availability and status (i.e. closed distillery). Perhaps a little zesty and spirity in places but here this adds character whereas other blends would smooth this out and diminish the tasting experience (in my opinion). 88/100
Grant’s Triple Wood Smoky Blended Scotch whisky review: A delightful little blend that opens on the nose with a definite peat and smoke. I’m sure this will frighten a few people off but the palate in contrast is just full of fruit and dark sugars, the smoke doesn’t really appear until much later. I’m definitely going to use this one in blind tastings as it really plays with the perceptions. Really rather fun! 80/100
Grant’s Rum Cask Finish blended Scotch whisky review: A little sweeter than the Triple Wood. My fear was I really haven’t been enjoying Rum-cask finished whiskies of late, but this one is a slight improvement over the entry-level blend. Perhaps it has polished that grain whisky edge off a little?
The Whiskyphiles 