What is your favourite affordable blend?

While not a true blend, my go to is Monkey Shoulder

Hosting a tasting in a weeks time I saw Teachers in the supermarket for £12 (70cl bottle) which I think would be stupid of me not to get at least 1 bottle. The other blends I'd like to try are BJN and Black Bottle.

Johnnie Walker Black

My new best friend blend is Compass Box Great King Street Artists Blend. Delicious and a true blend, not a blended malt.

I've yet to try it, but in terms of value I've heard that the Compass Box Oak Cross is a great blend. It's a blended malt, so it might be more in line with your taste if you don't like a lot of the blends you mention. And I don't know about Down Under, but around here it's only five bucks more than the Great King St. Plus, unlike the Johnnie Green, I don't think it's going away any time soon.

@HeartlessNinny. Agreed. The CB Oak Cross is very good and good value. For me, though, JW Green still rules the blended malt category. I'm glad I have 3 bunkered. Just picked up CB Flaming Heart. It's a little pricey but the reviews are all good. Might crack it this weekend. I'm on a bit of a Compass Box thing these days, so I might have to go for the Spice Tree next. It's also very highly rated by the cognoscenti.

Ardmore Peated is only $40 in Oregon. A great bargain to be sure. I find it to be better than the cheaper Bowmores. It has more range and depth to me, and also a very pleasant sweeter note that becomes accentuated when the bottle is past the half way mark. At first, it seemed bitter to me, like bitter oak, but that passed with a month or so after being opened.

@rigmorole I have been eyeing the Ardmore. I know that this is a loaded question, but what whisky would you compare it to? (Context: Talisker 10, which I really like, is only a few dollars more.)

Any hope on finding any Johnnie Walker Green in Quebec, Canada?

I consider Black Label for $20 and Great King St for $40 to be great tasting afforadable blends

I have gotten really into blends for everyday drinking as of late as well. I like JW Black, Great King St. Artist's Blend, Compass Box Asyla, Pig's Nose, Te Bheag the best probably. I really want to try BNJ, but it isn't very widely available where I am. Those are all on the slightly more expensive side for blends as far as I am concerned though. The ones I get most often are Grant's, Teacher's, Isle of Skye, and J&B. I even like Famous Grouse though… come to think of it, I don't think I have ever had a whisk(e)y I DISLIKED. hahaha

I just ordered a bottle of Great King St. New York Blend. I am very excited to try that.

@Jonathan : I would say that the Ardmore peated reminds me of HP12 mixed with Talisker 10 and a dash of Lagavulin. It doesn't have the creosote overtones of Ardbeg, nor does it have the medicinal/astringent notes of Lafroaig. If you've tasted the regular Ardmore by itself then mix in a bit of Lagavulin and you wouldn't be far off the mark. Since the Ardmore peated is quarter cask aged, it tastes about like a 12 to me but with a bit more rustic edges.

Why not make your own blend, Mosis? Here my suggestion: One part The McTarnahan ($30 bottle and yes it's 9.5 year Glenfarclas for a very cheap price), one half part Bowmore Legend, and one part famous grouse. That's 2,250 ml for about $70. It will last a long time and taste good, much better than one bottle for $23.33, which is one third of $70. I almost always like my own blends better than blended whiskies, which almost always contain a few duds in there that bring down the quality and sacrifice the magic. If all else fails, buy The McTarnahan and call it a day. You can't go wrong with a 9.5 year Farc.

I would say Grant's, with J&B (often underrated!) following close behind. I'm very excited to try Big Peat and Nikka From the Barrel.

@mosis522 I wouldn't say a favourite yet, however a new blend that I would recommend is Ian Macleod's Isle of Skye 8yr old. :)

@buoy37 Exactly. Those are the two blends I go for. Black Bottle for some peat and smoke, and Great King Street for a subtler experience. Both are very reasonably priced.

After having tried the Teachers and the BNJ (Bailie Nicol Jarvis - or Benjy for friends) I'm happy with both, with Teachers being the smokier. Both very easily drinkable!

Asyla! Its also from Compass Box. Its a blend of one single malt and one single grain whisky. Light, full of bourbonny flavours and not so expensive :)