Critic
The Case for Blended Scotch Whisky
An expert defends the overlooked art of mixing malts.
It’s been a long time since blended Scotch was cool. In 2008, Scotland exported roughly 840 million bottles of it; in 2017 the number was basically the same, even as single malt exports exploded over the same period, from 71.8 million bottles to 122 million bottles, according to the Scotch Whisky Association.
That’s a shame. Because while there’s obviously no lack of bland, cheap blended Scotch, there are also some astounding bottles, whiskies that stand up to the best single malts. It’s time connoisseurs take note.