7 minute read
Blended Malt Whisky
Blended malt whiskies are a category in their own right. But if there is a difference to blended whiskies, what are they? Dominic Roskrow explains.
Blended whisky. Blended malt whisky. Spot the difference.
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‘Malt’ might only have four letters, but in this context, it’s a mighty powerful word. It separates two entirely different drinks categories; it prompted a war of words which created international headlines; and it has unlocked a door to a whole new generation of whisky drinkers, who are predominantly young, predominantly trendy and hip, and are increasingly female.
The word ‘malt’ in this context has done that. I know. Let me explain…
Whisky comes in many shapes, but at the heart of the spirit is Scotland, and Scotland produces four distinct styles: single malt, grain, blended and blended malt.
Let’s kick a couple of misconceptions in to touch right away. Firstly, single malt is not necessarily superior to the other whisky styles. And two, Scotland doesn’t have a monopoly on the world’s best whisky. Far from it.
Single malt is a whisky made from malted barley, yeast and water. The word ‘single’ refers to the fact that all the malt comes from one distillery, but it does not mean it all comes from one cask. A single malt is a mixture of whiskies from different casks, of different ages, of different sizes, and whose previous contents vary one from to the next. Every single malt is a mixture of different casks so in this sense it is made in the same way as the other categories of whisky.
A grain whisky is a whisky made from another grain other than barley. It is made in a different way to single malt. In future issues we’ll look closer at these differences, but suffice to say, grain whisky can be produced in greater volumes than single malt, but its flavour is less distinctive and more taste neutral.
When single malts from different distilleries are mixed with grain whisky, a blended whisky is created. Just like single malt, a blend may be a carefully crafted balance of different cask types. This requires just as much skill as the craft required for a single malt, and at their best, premium blended whiskies are a sophisticated orchestra of flavours.
Which leaves blended malt whisky. A blended malt whisky is a mixture of single malt whiskies from different distilleries, but with no grain whisky in the mix. There is nothing new about this category - once known as vatted malts, it was a style used by the original grocers when creating their whisky recipes.
But the style was revived after the turn of the new Millennium, and it came to the attention of the greater public when a massive row broke out between drinks giants Diageo and William Grant & Sons. It was over Cardhu, and the decision by Diageo to mix the distillery’s whisky with that of two other distilleries, and to market the new whisky as Cardhu Pure malt.
William Grant & Sons was furious, and employed an international public relations guy to unleash hell. The row marked one of the few times when Scotch whisky made international headlines.
The end result was a truce and a series of Scotch Whisky Association edicts which included ending the use of the term ‘vatted’, the outlawing of the term ‘pure’, and the introduction of the term ‘blended malt.’
The category was already attracting attention from a new generation of whisky drinkers. Some time before, David Robertson, former master distiller at Macallan and now the founder and managing director of investment
consultants Rare 101, had teamed up with two friends to launch The Easy Drinking Whisky Company, and its three blended malt whiskies under the name Dave, Mark & Robbo.
What set the whiskies apart was the fact that the image of each was refreshingly young and irreverent. The standard masculine and text heavy single malt whisky label was replaced with a colourful cartoon design. The contents did not reference a distillery, but were promoted by taste - The Smoky Peaty One, The Rich Spicy One, and The Smooth, Sweeter One.
The idea was to demystify whisky but the company was ahead of its time. Extensive tasting events across the United Kingdom unveiled some interesting facts (the highest share of female vote went to the Smoky, Peaty One - at a time when ‘ladies preferred sweet Lowland whiskies’).
The problem here was that regular whisky drinkers were already married to brands within a whisky style, and men in particular weren’t ready to trade their Ardbeg or Laphroaig for something called The Smoky Peaty One.
It’s a shame, because take a look at the labels of That Boutique-y Whisky Company, Douglas Laing’s blended malts, and the whiskies put out by Wemyss, and it’s clear that Dave, Mark and Robbo were well and truly on the right track.
The turning point, somewhat ironically, came courtesy of William Grant & Sons, and one of the most innovative whisky brands ever created. Monkey Shoulder is an inspired concept. The name, seemingly light and fun, has its roots in the very heart of whisky making. It refers to a injury inflicted from the hard labour of turning the barley with a heavy shovel during the malting process, creating what is a cross between a repetitive strain injury and a hunch-back.
The whisky, a mix of the three distilleries William Grant owned - Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie - is a sweet and irresistible mix of apple and pear flavoured malt. And William Grant played on the monkey image, launching a highly modern marketing campaign embracing whisky cocktails when whisky cocktails barely existed. So successful was the campaign that cool city bars and magnets for 20 something years old single folk with disposable income applied for Monkey Bar status.
Today blended malt whiskies have the potential to drive the whisky market. Copper Dog has joined Monkey Shoulder at the frontline, and targets Jack Daniel’s and coke drinkers, arguing that it is providing a stepping stone to the world of Scotch whisky.
But it’s not just a Scottish phenomenon. Indeed, there is an opportunity for New World Whisky to steal a march on Scotland, by blending malts from different countries - something that the Scotch Whisky Association doesn’t allow. Australia and New Zealand have already done it with Digger & Ditch. Hybrid featured Irish whiskey from Cooley controversially mixed with malt from the Scottish mainland.
Blended malt whiskies offer exciting opportunities and we’ll be returning to the subject in the future. The Johnnie Walker team today has access to over 8 million casks of maturing whisky from more than 30 distilleries, enabling them to produce the consistent style we know and love today, whilst utilising an extensive flavour palate.
MASTER BLENDER JIM BEVERAGE
When the blenders art was first maturing, most single malts were terribly inconsistent. John Walker, for example, started blending them together so that his whisky tasted just as good every time. He was pursuing and delivering quality.
“WHAT DRIVES THE PURSUIT OF QUALITY IS FLAVOUR, EXPERIMENTATION AND A LOT OF PATIENCE. LEADING OUR SMALL TEAM OF 12 WHISKY EXPERTS WE PUT THESE THREE PILLARS AT THE HEART OF EVERYTHING WE DO,” SAID JIM BEVERAGE, MASTER BLENDER – JOHNNIE WALKER
“MALTS ARE ABOUT INTENSITY OF CHARACTER. SINGLE-MALT BOTTLINGS ARE ABOUT MAXIMIZING THIS SINGULARITY. BLENDS ARE ABOUT CREATING A TOTALITY.” DAVE BROOM
This consistency and extensive flavour palate requires a lot of patience but then the nature of whisky requires time. If you want to experiment with flavour to discover something new, then you must expect to wait a long time to see the fruits of your labour.
