• Ambassador Royal Deluxe 12 Year Old, 43% AbV, $20. A lovely, finely balanced blended Scotch with nuanced flavors of nut butter and old oak.
• Chivas Regal 12 Year Old, 40% AbV, $35. The classic luxury brand that put the “luxury” in blended Scotch when it was introduced in 1954. Strathisla is the core malt.
• Chivas Royal Salute 21 Year Old, 40% AbV, $180. One of the greatest, most sublime whisky experiences of any variety that one could have. A legend.>/li>
• Compass Box “Asyla”, 40% AbV, $40. Malt whiskies from stellar distilleries like Linkwood and Cragganmore form the soul of this lithe, feminine blended Scotch.
• Dewar’s Special Reserve 12 Year Old, 43% AbV, $25. Core malt whisky is Aberfeldy. A delicious, mature whisky with seductive flavors of nougat and baked pears.
• Duggan’s Dew, 43.3% AbV, $22. Another best-kept-secret blended Scotch that combines excellent value and outstanding flavor.
• Johnnie Walker Gold 18 Year Old, 40% AbV, $65. The heart of this great Scotch hails from the Clynelish Distillery in the northern Highlands. Simply thrilling.
• Old Smuggler, 40% AbV, $15. A big favorite during Prohibition, Old Smuggler is today an overlooked dram of character and style.
• Pinch The Dimple 15 Year Old, 43% AbV, $33. One of the classiest blended Scotches, whose core malts include Dalwhinnie and Glenkinchie. Elegance in a glass.
• Teacher’s Highland Cream, 43% AbV, $20. The foundational malts are Ardmore and Glendronach. The creamy/oily result is one of the best blended Scotches you can buy.
• White Horse, 40% AbV, $16. The sensational smoky/iodine taste is brought to you courtesy of the Lagavulin Distillery on Islay among others. Unbelievable value.
• William Grant’s Family Reserve, 43% AbV, $16. Both Glenfiddich and Balvenie malts contribute to the sophisticated character of this global favorite.

As for the part of whiskey that matters, the enjoyment, there is no reason why a blended whiskey would be inferior or superior to a single malt. The difference is only in that single malts from one region will have the region’s characteristics come through in the scotch. This is difficult with blends because you have a lot of different whiskeys blended together. It’s like listening to a violin versus listening to an orchestra, to use the orchestra analogy once again.

So, when choosing what you’ll be having, it’s more important to be familiar with the whiskey rather than look to see whether it’s a blend or a single malt. Like age, whether the scotch is blended or a single malt is a poor indicator of whether you’ll enjoy it.