Cheap, good quality blends

I would suggest Té Bheag, Old Perth (1st batch), Monkey Shoulder, Teachers Highland, Grants Family Reserve and for peated Blends Black Grouse, Black Bottle and Johnny Walker Black Label (on Christmas Discount).

I'm not sure if you can get it in Canada but BNJ ( Baille Nicol Jarvie) is a nice crisp sipper.

@maltster I just picked up some of those you mentioned today (Te Bheag, Teacher's specifically). I got a bottle of Green Label sitting here already so I won't bother with Black Label. As for the others, I think I have to give Grant's a try. Monkey Shoulder is listed at $70 here, which is outrageous. Thanks for the suggestions!

@cheeserandyburg I would recommend Grant's and Teachers' (the latter actually contains mostly malts, which is rare for your usual grain/malt blend...)

Our informal whisky club did a taste off with all the budget blends at the LCBO - the results can be found here: www.connosr.com/lists/299578/Array/ (the list got sort of corrupted and lost the title, but it still contains all the information.

Te Bheag, Teacher's, Islay Mist 8yr, and Famous Grouse were the top 4, but I'd likely take Grant's Sherry Cask Reserve over Famous Grouse, and while they didn't place that high up, Whyte & Mackay's Special Reserve and Bell's Original are actually pretty decent.

I'd steer clear of J&B, Cutty Sark, Ballantines, and pretty much anything below 9th place...

@YakLord Thanks Yak! That list is a great help, I totally over looked Grant's Sherry and it seems to be fairly popular so I'm gonna give it a pop. Nice price as well.

It's a strange coincidence since I just picked up the 1st and 2nd pick from that list just today, and thanks to a recommendation from you in the past I've already tried the Islay Mist 8, which is long gone. Btw, I don't think I've ever tasted a blend as bad as Ballatine's. I've tried it two times and each time it was just awful. Not sure how people can stomach that one.

@cheeserandyburg Some good suggestions thus far but I will second maltster's Black Bottle. Decent flavor for a great price. $23.00 sticker for me. Great value buy.

@JJBriggs - unfortunately, Black Bottle is not available in Ontario, so we've got a much more limited selection to choose from...and secondly, you might want to cherish your existing stock of Black Bottle, as I've seen some nasty rumours that Burn Stewart has been fiddling with the recipe in order to "modernize" it and make it appeal to a broader audience: dramming.com/2013/10/…

I agree with @maltster in BNJ and Monkey Shoulder. Both solid choices.

There is no BNJ in Ontario. @maltster, if there were BNJ in Ontario I would have brought home a good supply of it by now.

Here's the latest Malt Maniacs' e-pistle. Louis offers some personal insight into several blends.

maltmaniacs.net/E-pistles/…

Great suggestions here, thanks guys!

The LCBO has a blend from South Africa called 3 ships. It's priced at under 35.00. Jim Murray has given it a rating of 93. Good value for the money.

Cheap, good quality blends are getting easier to find in the US. I'm a big fan of Isle of Skye 8 and 12. I was also impressed with the taste and low price of Spencerfield Spirits Pig's Nose blend, and their Sheep Dip Blended Malt is even better! On the very low end of the price range, Label 5 and Black & White are reasonably good blends, without the "baby sick" taste other bottom shelf Scotch whiskies tend to have!

In the more smokey/peaty end of the spectrum, I actually prefer Hogshead Fine Old Blended Malt, and Johnnie Walker Double Black blend, over the better known Black Grouse. I would include Black Bottle on this list in the past, but it has't been that good in the last few years, and they recently completely revamped the brand, and now the peat is gone, replaced with a Speyside profile to supposedly draw in a wider, younger audience, to mixed reviews!

Beyond Scotland, I recommend Suntory's Hibiki Blend. It's on the high end of cheap, but it's well made and tasty, and the bottle is a keeper! Basic Irish blends like Jameson and Paddy's are well priced, and have good if not complex flavor profiles. When I'm out with friends dining somewhere with a limited bar, I'll order a Jameson over the basic Scotches they usually have, like Red Label, J&B, or Cutty Sark.

Price varies from state to state, depending on the taxes that each state piles on, some of these choices might not seem as cheap where you live. For example, here in my home state of Missouri, the tax rate on liquor is reasonable, so I can pick up a bottle of Monkey Shoulder for about $30, which is pretty good for a Blended Malt!

Every time I pick up a blend to cut costs I get dissapointed. I dont know hows life over there, but I can pick up a decent 'secret' single malt like Finlaggan for about €17,- in the Netherlands. So far they have all been tastier than whatever cheap blend.

@PeatyZealot: BNJ will not disappoint but as a lighter style there is a time for it to show best; pre Dinner, after lunch etc. It is a mighty fine blend - Light but not to be taken lightly! I believe the Malt component is Glenmorangie, enough said.

As another Ontarian my experiences are similar to the results from YakLord's group tastings, although I would place Islay Mist above Teachers and move Grants Sherry with Black Grouse to 4-5th ahead of Famous Grouse. I haven't tried everything on that list yet, but I will say that W&M, Walker Red and Ballantine's aren't worth the glass they're bottled in.

If you're willing to talk Canadian blends, I'd recommend Forty Creek Copper Pot. A lot more body and flavour than every other Canadian in that price range and much better than the Barrel Select.

I like Baille Nicol Jarvie, Teacher's, Black Bottle, Kirin Fuji Sanroku Tarujuku 50° & Suntory Black 43°

Kirin Fuji Sanroku Tarujuku 50° - at 50% this is a sheer bargain

I was curious about Talisman and recently picked up a bottle. Yet to crack it, I understand it has a large portion of Tomatin in the mix.

@A'bunadhman It seems to be available here for €18,- about the same as Monkey Shoulder, from which I also hear good things. But thats a vatted malt right?

Thanx for the tip anyway, lets hope I'll find it at a bar :)