A blended whiskey (or blended whisky) is the product of blending different types of whiskeys and sometimes also neutral spirits, colorings, and flavorings. It is generally the product of mixing one or more higher-quality

straight Straight may refer to: Slang * Straight, slang for heterosexual ** Straight-acting, normal person * Straight, a member of the straight edge subculture Sport and games * Straight, an alternative name for the cross, a type of punch in boxing * Str ...

or single malt whiskey with less expensive spirits and other ingredients. This typically allows for a lower-priced product, although expensive "premium" varieties also exist. Some examples of blended whiskey include Canadian Club, Canadian Mist,

Jameson Irish Whiskey Jameson () is a blended Irish whiskey produced by the Irish Distillers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard. Originally one of the six main Dublin whiskeys at the Jameson Distillery Bow St., Jameson is now distilled at the New Midleton Distillery in ...

, Seagram's Seven, Kessler Whiskey, Hibiki, the various Scotch whisky blends sold under the

Johnnie Walker Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's ...

brand, and

Ballantine's Ballantine's is a brand of Blended whisky#Scotland, blended Scotch whisky produced by the Chivas Brothers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in Dumbarton, Scotland. The Ballantine's flavour is dependent on fingerprint malts from Miltonduff and Glenb ...

Grant's Grant's is a blended whisky, blended Scotch whisky, produced by the company William Grant & Sons in Scotland. It is the world's third highest selling Scotch whisky. History In 1886, William Grant (businessman), William Grant started working ...

, Chivas Regal and other Scotch whisky blends.

Ingredients and uses

Higher proof spirits with less time aging are usually much less expensive to produce than straight whiskeys or single malt whiskeys and are often the primary spirits in blends, along with more premium whiskies and other ingredients added for flavoring. Most

cocktail A cocktail is a mixed drink, usually alcoholic beverage, alcoholic. Most commonly, a cocktail is a combination of one or more liquor, spirits mixed with other ingredients, such as juices, flavored syrups, tonic water, Shrub (drink), shrubs, and ...

s and

mixed drink A mixed drink is a Drink, beverage in which two or more ingredients are Drink mixer, mixed. Types * List of non-alcoholic mixed drinks—A non-alcoholic mixed drink (also known as virgin cocktail, temperance drink, or mocktail) is a cocktail-sty ...

s that contain whiskey are made using economically priced blended whiskeys rather than higher priced whiskeys, primarily because the presence of the other ingredients makes the subtleties of the taste of the whiskey less critical to the overall taste of the drink.

Age statements

Most blended whiskeys do not list an age, although the regulations governing its production in some countries specify a minimum aging requirement. All spirits in a Canadian, Scottish, or Irish whiskey must be aged at least three years, and any age statement refers to the minimum age of the spirits used in the blend. In the United States, the age statement only refers to the minimum age of the straight whiskey — which must comprise at least 20% of the content — used within the blend. As neutral spirits are not considered whiskeys, they do not have to be aged at all for the production of U.S. blended whiskey.

Other regulations by country

Canada

Most Canadian whiskies are blends. Any grain spirit aged for at least three years in Canada may be called Canadian whisky. Regulations do not specify any distillation limit, although in practice, it differs little from the Scottish and Irish limit of 94.8%, as the purity of neutral grain spirit has a practical limit of approximately that value. Whiskies with a lower distillation proof are also often included for flavor, with rye whisky being characteristically included. Canadian whisky may contain both caramel coloring and flavoring.

Ireland

Irish blended whiskey is defined by the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine The Department of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine () is a Department of State (Ireland), department of the Government of Ireland. According to the department, its mission is to "lead the sustainable development of a competitive, cons ...

as a blend of two or more different whiskey types among the

pot still A pot still is a type of distillation apparatus or still used to distill liquors such as whisky or brandy. In modern (post-1850s) practice, they are not used to produce rectified spirit, because they do not separate congeners from ethanol as ...

malt Malt is any cereal grain that has been made to germinate by soaking in water and then stopped from germinating further by drying with hot air, a process known as "malting". Malted grain is used to make beer, whisky, malted milk, malt vinegar, ...

, and grain whiskey categories. Its production usually includes Irish grain whiskey that is produced from a distillate that "is much less intense in flavor when compared to pot still distillates ... at a strength of 94.5% vol."

Scotland

Under Scotch Whisky Regulations, ''Blended Malt Scotch Whisky'' means a blend of two or more single malt Scotch whiskies that have been distilled at more than one distillery; ''Blended Grain Scotch Whisky'' means a blend of two or more single grain Scotch whiskies that have been distilled at more than one distillery; and ''Blended Scotch Whisky'' means a blend of one or more single malt Scotch whiskies with one or more single grain Scotch whiskies. The regulations also allow the addition of

caramel color Caramel color or caramel coloring is a water-soluble food coloring. It is made by heat treatment of carbohydrates (sugars), in general in the presence of acids, alkalis, or salts, in a process called caramelization. It is more fully oxidized ...

, regardless of whether the final product is labeled as blended or not.Scotch Whisky Regulations Guidance 2009
,

Scotch Whisky Association The Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) is a trade association, trade organisation that represents the Scotch whisky industry. The Scotch whisky industry is an important part of the Economy of Scotland, Scottish economy, and particularly the Scottis ...

, December 2, 2009.

United States

American "blended whiskey" – alternatively labeled as "whiskey – a blend" – must contain a minimum of 20%

straight whiskey Straight whiskey (or straight whisky), as defined in United States law, is whiskey that is distilled from a fermented (malted or unmalted) cereal grain mash to a concentration not exceeding 80% alcohol by volume (abv) and aged in new charred ...

. Blended whiskey that contains a minimum of 51% straight whiskey of one particular grain type (i.e., rye, malt, wheat, or bourbon whiskey) includes the grain type in its label description (e.g., "blended rye whiskey" or "blended bourbon whiskey"). Spirits containing less than 20% straight whiskey but greater than 5% whiskey of any kind can be labeled "spirit whiskey". American "blended whiskey" is not to be confused with American whiskey labeled as a "blend of straight whiskeys". A "blend of straight whiskeys" is a mixture of one or more straight whiskeys that either includes straight whiskeys produced in different U.S. states or coloring and flavoring additives (and possibly other approved "blending materials") or both, but ''does not'' contain neutral grain spirits.

Notes

References

External links

Dr. Whisky
(on blended whisky)
L.A. Whiskey Society
(reviews of blended whisky) {{whisky, state=expanded Whisky