blend information

Given that blends include sometimes 50 or more malts and grain whiskies, it might be difficult. I am sure sometimes the blender is secretive about it in the interests of "secret recipes" - but who knows?

Besides, composition of blends will change all the time - the idea is to make a consistent product - so the blender will have to consider different batches and vintages of available malts and grain whiskies... Anders

I could swear I once saw a list of suspected malts in prominent blends, but I can't find it now. If you Google extensively, you can sometimes come up with links like this one. The Bells's link is remarkably detailed below:

If you go to the Grouse homepage it says that two of the most prominent malts are The Macallan and Highland Park.

Here's some skinny on Bell's-- "Famed for its distinctive character and subtle taste, Bell's draws on the complex qualities of 35 different malt and grain whiskies delicately interwoven into a blended Scotch whisky with a contemporary taste. Light and subtle, the superb combination of grain and malt creates a characteristically spicy blend with an aromatic nose, a slightly sweet, nutty character and a smooth, well-rounded finish. Incredibly, it is estimated that 2000 bottles of Bell's Extra Special Old Scotch Whisky are sold every hour of the day... At the heart of the blend lie four remarkable single malts drawn from the finest Speyside distilleries - Pittyvaich, Dufftown, Inchgower and Blair Athol - one of the oldest distilleries in Scotland."

$8

A few Scots of my acquaintance swear there must be petrol in Bells.

If so, then low octane.

Thanks to all who responded ... any truth in the rumour that there's Lagavullin in Dewars ....?!

Lagavullin in Dewars ....?!

A Google finds on the Dewars website that their White Label is a blend of up to 40 different malts. If you want, you can write their expert and ask questions about Dewars at

Maybe the expert will tell you if Lagavulin is a major component or just another one in the horde (since there are just over 100 malt distilleries, it sounds like White Label uses about a third of all possible malts). All they will say on the website is this quote, but you can always ask: "The exact nature of the DEWAR'S blend is a very closely guarded secret. But the master blender at DEWAR'S chooses up to 40 from an enormous number of distinguished single malt and grain whiskies housed in a large "library," then delicately mixes flavours and proportions to achieve the unmistakable DEWAR'S balance and the taste that "never varies."

But here's something from a Talisker page: "Although the great bulk of Talisker goes to Scotch blending houses such as Dewars, White Horse and Bells, a small proportion is bottled as Talisker Pure Malt Whisky and is traded under the "classic malts" label by United Distillers for both the home and export market "

A few months ago, I posted this information about what's in the delicious, reasonably priced, and rapidly disappearing Campbeltown Loch 25 YO blended scotch.

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All the malts in this Scotch are superb, and this whisky has been aging for

25 years, and the blend has a high (70%) malt content.

An e-mail from Henry Preiss says that the grain whiskies include:

Invergordon 1977 Dumbarton 1962 Lochside 1962

And the malts include:

Springbank 1969 Glenfarclas 1970 Balvenie 1968 Tamdhu 1971 Ardbeg 1969 Glenlivet 1972

"The exact proportions of each are not known as it was blended together so many years ago."

The e-mail then suggests the following notes:

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Colour: Mahogany

Nose: Very rich and mature! Thick-cut marmalade. Christmas cake and a hint of cough syrup.

Palate: Full-bodied with hints of toffee, cinnamon, marzipan and a teasing touch of smoke at the back of the palate. All in all the perfect balance of sweetness and oak.

Finish: Enduring spicy-sweetness.

Comments: Needs no water! Blended and aged to perfection.

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Slainte, Barnaby