What is your favourite affordable blend?

To be honest - I haven't had many blends that I've enjoyed enough that was worth buying - with one exception...Johnnie Walker Green.

@FMichael I agree on Johnnie Walker Green, I have a bottle currently open and plan to buy another before they are unavailable for good to put away for a rainy day..

@mosis522 Yes - not a bad idea considering if the rumours are true (Diageo will discontinue the JW Green).

@FMichael, you have definitely been drinking the wrong blends my friend! Personally, I am a huge fan of blends. I know, I know single malts are usually the only thing anyone wants to talk about but one need only look at the fantastic quality of blends that are coming out of Japan to see how good they can really be.

mosis522, I am genuinely surprised that you're not fond of Grants. Grants Family Reserve has become one of my staples! Definitely a go-to blend for me now. I actually had it for the first time just a couple of months ago and just fell in love with it.

Is Suntory Royal (15 yo is my favorite but 12 yo and no age statement are fine too) available where you are? How about Black Bottle? Nikka from the barrel? Suntory Old Whisky?

I would recommend any of those if you're looking for blends at a decent price. However if your price range is higher I could recommend some fantastic blends that are better then many single malts.

I recently open my bottle of this www.ianmacleod.com/brands/ very nice too, think I paid £17.

I would also say you cant go wrong with Ballantine's Finest

@CanadianNinja In Australia alot of the japanese whiskies are not very widely available, Yamazaki 12 is pretty much all this is stocked, and again it isn't cheap. With the grants, i just found it rather harsh @Jimlad2000 I have not had Ballantines finest, maybe it will be the next one to try...

My two favorite affordable blends at the moment are Black Bottle and Royal Thistle.

Since people are mentioning Johnnie Green as affordable, I must suggest Compass Box's Great King Street.

Te Bheag for sure...and I intend to pick up a bottle of Teacher's at some point as I find its' reported Ardmore malt base to be intriguing.

Bushmills Black Bush is another winner for me in the blended book.

I must be the only one who likes JW Black more than JW Green. I like the former and found the later less compelling which is good because it easily costs twice as much and I suspect is outside the realm of being an "affordable blend" in Australia.

While I personally don't care for Ballantines, Chivas, JW Red, Dewars, Cutty Sark, or Clan Mcgregor, probalby worth giving them all a try. I would personally prefer Black Bottle, Teachers or Grants for an affordable blend over those others but JW Black would be ultimate go to.

UK really has the best options here in terms of availability and price, there are so many blends I've read about but never seen in the US at all, I suspect it is the same in Australia. I'll just have to be content with the awesome price/selection of bourbon in my home region.

Should have also said Ian Mcleod Isle of Skye 8 Year Old is about the same price as JW Black and is outstanding too. I suspect it is probably not available in Australia though, it is very hard to find in the United States.

Inspired by Ralfy's recent recommendation, I thought I'd give Johnnie Walker Swing a try, and I'm glad I did. A rich, complex, malty blend that I prefer to just about anything else in the JW range, with the exception of the Green Label. It seems to be a rather ignored whisky, although I understand that it's not widely available in many parts of the word. It's not bottom shelf in terms of its price tag, but at about the same price as JW Green, I'd say it qualifies as affordable.

I also enjoy JW Black and Teacher's. Haven't tried Grant's in years, and I'll get around to Black Bottle some day. My favorite blend remains Black Bull 30 yo, but it doesn't really fall in the "affordable" column...

JW Green is a vatted malt isn't it? So it's not like other more common blends in that sense.

My fav so far is Bushmills Black Bush.

My absolute favourite blend, albeit a Malt blend is Big Peat! It is a vatting of Ardbeg, Bowmore, Caol Ila, and even Port Ellen, and is truly scrumptious...& is affordable! I wonder what will happen when the Port Ellen is no more? Surely, stocks of this precious Malt must be running low!

Cheers.

@A'bunadhman Big Peat sounds right up my street. I haven't really investigated blends so this discussion has added this and @jimlad2000 Isle of skye to my wish list. Good tips, thanks.

@A'bunadhman Had a bottle of Big Peat stuck at the back of a cupboard, after hearing your comments i'll be cracking it open over the weekend.

My favourite blend so far would be Ballentines 12yr and my favourite vatted would be JW Green. I was able to cover both sides of this discussion. Both are very affordable however the JW Green will be discontinued this year. :)

@JeffC, I too prefer the JW Black over any other JW blend (including the Blue). My go-to standard blend is Ballantine's Finest - it's slightly smoky, distinctive, malty and easy to drink, and you can't beat the price. @mosis522, I'm surprised you don't like Grant's Family Reserve - I think it's another one of those underrated standard blends - it has such a luxurious mouthfeel, also very easy to drink.

Though not that affordable, Ballantine's 17 is one of my favourite scotches, period, never mind favourite blend. Also Hibiki 12 is amazing. If I had to go very upmarket, I would pick Black Bull 40 Year Old Batch 1.

@mosis522 Hands down, Bailie Nicol Jarvie and Teachers, both around $35 at Dan Murphy's. In particular the BNJ is fantastic value with a very high malt content and well aged.

I haven't mentioned vatted malts because the good ones seem to go for $60 and above and for that money you start to get some really good single malts.

Johnnie Walker green label,a great blend,a friend for the long winter night here in quebec!

@systemdown I think BNJ is going to be the cheap blend ill stick with along with JW black when on special.. I have a bottle of teachers, and don't quite feel like it is in the same league as those two.. @talexander I actually received a Ballantine's 17 yr old yesterday as an early valentines present from my wife to be, have not opened it yet, but to say I am keen to try it is an understatement!

My current top three affordable blends are;

1. Compass Box Great King Street
2. Isle of Skye 12 year old
3. Spencerfield Spirits Pig's Nose

Higher up in pricing, my current top three blended malts are;

1. Compass Box Spice Tree
2. Johnnie Walker 15 year old Green Label
3. Spincerfield Spirits Sheep Dip

Black label. Best nose for the price!! Loving the battenburgh and smoke!!

It's not Black Bottle. I like JW Red and Soda on ice with just a smidge of Caol Ila if I'm at home. The Caol Ila brings the Red to life and opens up the most it has to offer. In bars and restaurants: Red & Soda on the Rocks.

Without a doubt it is Compass Box Great King Street. And the bottle sticker is awesome!

@Pudge72 I have to agree. Given the stipulations of affordability, for around $25 us this is a great blend if you like Irish whiskey.

I would say Black bottle. Green label is´nt bad either. If i would wanna make a whisky drink of any kind, or an Irish coffee i´d always choose a bushmills though.

I just discovered this one;

At less than $20US, Bank Note 5 year old, is a very nice blended whisky. It is on the softer Speyside side of the blending world, but it has a very high malt content, and is very smooth for a 5 year old! If you see a bottle on the shelves, grab it. It's a bargain for the quality!

I have enjoyed the Haig Dimple 15 yr a time or two. Pretty subtle, but drinkable.