Blended whiskey

A blended whiskey (or whisky) is the product of blending different types of whiskeys and often also neutral and near-neutral spirits, coloring, and flavorings. It is generally the product of mixing one or more higher quality straight or single malt whiskies with higher-alcohol-content spirits or neutral spirits and water. Scotland, Ireland, Canada, and the United States are common countries of origin for blends.

Widely known examples of blended whiskey include Johnnie Walker, Seagram's Seven Crown, Jameson, Chivas Regal, Old St Andrews, and Black & White.

Use of neutral spirits

Neutral spirits, near-neutral spirits and other 'fillers' are usually much cheaper to produce than straight or single malt whiskey, so blends containing them are usually much cheaper to buy. Most cocktails and mixed drinks that contain whiskey call for the use of blended whiskey. This is primarily for cost reasons, and secondarily because the complex flavours of higher quality whiskeys would be overshadowed by the mixers. Whiskey purists generally consider blended whiskey to be an inferior drink to the straight and single malt varieties.

Regulations

Scotland and Ireland

Scottish and Irish blended whiskeys often contain light spirits that are very neutral in flavoring – as the governing regulations in those countries allow whiskey distillation processes to reach up to 94.8% ABV concentration, which is very near the achievable limits of ordinary distillation technology. Scotch and Irish regulations also allow the addition of caramel, regardless of whether the product is labelled as blended or not. A mix of single malts only, without other types of whiskey such as made from grains other than malted barley, may be called a "blended malt" (formerly known as a vatted malt). Under current Scotch whiskey regulations, the "vatted malt" term is now prohibited for labels, in favor of the term "blended malt". In Scotland, when a blended whiskey includes an age statement, each individual spirit in the mix must be at least as old as the age listed.

United States

In the United States, under federal regulations spirits with alcohol distillation concentrations above 80% alcohol by volume (ABV) cannot be referred to as "straight" whiskey, as the flavor from the original fermented grain mash is substantially diminished at higher distillation purities. Generally, any distilled spirit of 85% ABV or higher (without additives) is considered to be essentially neutral alcohol. Blended American whiskey must contain at least 20% straight whiskey. Mixtures with between 5 and 20% ABV, or ones where the non-neutral components do not meet the definition of "straight whiskey" must be labelled "spirit whiskey".

Canada

Canadian whiskey regulations do not specify any distillation limit, although in practice this differs little from the Scottish and Irish limit of 94.8%, because the purity of neutral grain spirit has a practical limit of approximately that value (because a mixture of ethanol and water becomes an azeotrope at 95.6% ABV). Canadian whiskey may contain both caramel and flavorings, as well as distilled spirits.

Age statements

Most blended whiskeys do not list an age, although the regulations governing its production in some countries specify a minimum aging requirement. Canadian, Scottish, and Irish whiskey must all be aged at least three years. In the United States, the age statement only refers to the minimum age of the straight whiskey used within the blend (which must comprise at least 20% of the content). American regulations do not have a minimum aging time requirement for blended whiskey, although a minimum of two years is established for "straight" American whiskey, and blended American whiskey must contain at least 20% straight whiskey..

See also

• Straight whiskey
• Blended Scotch whisky

External links

• Dr. Whisky (on blended whisky)
• L.A. Whiskey Society (reviews of blended whisky)