Your Blend Opinions

@McTeague For me the best blend for your money is Cutty Sark Prohibition and it would be on my list of very good whisky if it was not as sweet as it is. One that I really like is the Lombard Old Masters Freemason that is quite spicy but a bit more expensive. Of course the Compass Box Co offers you many fantastic blends but their prices can be compare to some regular single malt. Any very expensive blend I usually avoid and pick a Single Malt instead although this is not a strict rule as I bought the Taketsuru 17 yo for instance.

My favorite has to be Bells. I don't know how easy it is to get in the US, but I picked up several bottles when I was last in Scotland - alas, I've almost run out. It is truly fantastic, IMO.

I agree, Cutty Prohibition at 50% ABV is a good one. Famous Grouse Black Grouse is good and Compass Box Great King Street Artists' Blend is very good but a bit pricey. Never tried it, but I hear Dewar's 12 yr old is a very good blend. When in doubt stick to JW Black Label.

@McTeague. See @Nozinan's recent review of the Dewars 12. He's a very reliable reviewer and obviously not a fan. I guess I will continue to give that one a miss.

There are 27 previous Connosr discussions when you search "blends". Several of them may be useful. Many of us get tired of answering the same questions over and over for years.

I will restate my own opinion of Scottish blended whiskies, NOT "blended malts"/"pure malts"/"vatted malts", which I consider no different in character from "Single" malts". Blended Scotch whiskies are often, but not always, ruined by two qualities they typically have: 1) DILUTION, 90+% ABV "grain" whiskies diluted down to 40% ABV and then blended with malt whiskies also diluted to 40% ABV. This lowers the density of flavours enormously, and 2) WHEAT "grain" whiskies, the flavours of which, to my taste, clash badly with the flavours of a) wine, b) peat, and c) peat smoke (and, in the case of North American whiskeys, RYE grain) .

Some blended Scotches are really great, but you have to sift through a lot of chaff to find the really good ones. For Big Flavours buffs like I am the 40% ABV characteristic alone handicaps the entire category of Blended Scotch enormously.

My favourite inexpensive ones are on my Blended Scotch Desert Island List.

I had Isle of Skye 12 yesterday and thought it was excellent. I also really like BNJ

@NAV26, I am glad to see someone other than @PMessinger and I has had the chance to drink some Isle of Skye 12 YO. That one is at the top of my list, and I'd rather be drinking Isle of Skye 12 Blended than almost everything blended costing 5 times as much, and 80% of Scottish single malts.