Grant's Family Reserve: Blended Scotch

Blended scotch whisky has, rather unfairly, been saddled with a bad reputation. Sure there are some bottom shelf blends that will turn your stomach, but there are also blends that offer excellent quality at an affordable price. In fact, it is far easier to find an affordable blend that tastes great, than it is to find a single malt of similar quality at a similarly low price point.

What is it?

A blend contains a mix of single malts and a component of grain whisky, which unlike a single malt is made from grains other than barley. Grain whisky is lighter in body and should ideally allow the complexity of the malt to shine through.

The difficulty for the master blenders, who figure out the exact proportion of different malts and grains to use in a blend, is maintaining a consistent product and sourcing enough malt to widely distribute the final product. The beauty of single malts is their variability, but blenders want a consistent end product. When you buy a bottle of Johnnie Walker you expect it to taste a certain way. Blenders must work with what is available and continually tweak the recipe to offer a final product that is familiar to consumers from batch to batch.

William Grant & Sons

The art of blending becomes a great deal easier when you have a massive supply of quality malt available. William Grant and Sons is still a family owned company. They are the makers of Glennfiddich, Belvenie and the lesser known Kininvie single malts as well as Grivan grain whisky.

Grant revolutionized the sale of single malts when Scotland's largest blender went bankrupt and he was forced to sell Glennfiddich as a single malt. Glennfiddich remains the largest selling single malt in the world. With all of this wonderful malt, it is no wonder Grant's is able to produce excellent blends. It doesn't hurt that David Stewart, the companies master blender, has been at his post for 42 years. This is the longest tenure for any master blender in the industry.

The Whisky

Grants Family Reserve Blended Scotch Whisky smells slightly of banana, ripe fruit, toffee and contains a hint of smoke.

The taste is a mix of toffee, biscuits, cream and chocolate.

There is some smoke on the finish along with a rich fading fruit.

For around $15.00, this is tough to beat in its category. It has a little of everything and offers enough complexity to hold your interest. I would recommend this to someone who has never tried scotch and doesn't want to spend a lot of money giving it a shot.

I give this a 9/9 value to quality rating.

Buffalo Trace Bourbon

Bourbon, in general, is one of the best bargains in liquor. The quality and variety of bourbon available for under $25.00 is staggering when compared to Single Malt Scotch.   

A Quick Lesson on Bourbon

To be considered bourbon, whiskey must meet the following requirements.  

• It must contain at least 51% corn
• It must be aged in new charred oak barrels
• It must be aged at least two years, four years to be called "straight bourbon"
• It can be no more than 160 proof (or 80% ABV)
• It may not contain any additives, beyond water to control proof 

Contrary to popular belief it does not need to be made in Kentucky, though a great deal of it is. Another misconception is that Jack Daniel's is bourbon. It is not, it is Tennessee Whiskey. You can read more about that here.

Buffalo Trace Distillery

The Buffalo Trace Distillery, previously known as Ancient Age, is located in Frankfort, Kentucky and has been in existence since 1787. The distillery has a capacity of 14.3 million gallons of spirit per year.  

Buffalo Trace's willingness to experiment and take chances has put them at the forefront of American whiskey distilling and has won them a number of awards. They were the first American distiller to release a single barrel bourbon, the delicious and readily available Blantons. Their flagship bourbon is Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.  

The Whiskey

Buffalo Trace is a 90 Proof (45% abv) Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey.

This is simply great whiskey. The color is deep gold and amber.  

It has a complex nose, which includes leather up front with hints of vanilla, sweet corn, and oak char.

In the mouth Buffalo Trace is soft, but full of flavor. All of the components one expects in a great bourbon are there in perfect measure; sweet corn, vanilla, fall spices, dried fruit and damp leaves. This is a complex yet easy drinking whiskey.   

The finish is spicy and dry.

Overall

I can't say a bad thing about this whiskey and at under $25.00 it is a great introduction to the world of bourbon. It is also a great place to start investigating the wonderful range of Buffalo Trace Whiskey's currently on the market.

I give this a 8/9 value to quality rating.