A Lesson in Blended Scotch

I’m sure many of you have all sampled a blended Scotch whisky before, but have you ever tasted the individual components that make the whisky’s final blend?

Chivas Regal 18 with the different malt components tasted during the live Chivas tasting event: Islay 18, Longmorn 18, Grain 18, and Strathisla 18

A group of influential Scotch and spirits bloggers had the opportunity to do just that thanks in part to the team behind Chivas Regal. In early October, on a blustery afternoon in New York City that just had “Scotch” written all over it, many of us gathered together live in New York City where we were guided in our Scotch adventure by Chivas Brothers  Global Brand Ambassador Alex Robertson. I was lucky enough to be invited to the Eventi Hotel in NYC to participate in the live component and monitor the chat room feed throughout Alex’s highly educational tasting.

Meanwhile, throughout the country (Well, world actually. We had people participating in Canada and, ironically, in Glasgow, Scotland!), bloggers alike logged in to a chat room set up by Chivas to watch and listen to the action as it happened in New York. And on our way we went! Alex was our fantastic guide to breaking down the Chivas Regal 18 into its various 18-yo malt components and “rebuilding” it to better understand what makes up the final blend.

So what happens when you have one blended Scotch whisky, four regional malt components, and participants spanning time zones at least eight hours apart? Well, why don’t I just leave that to the experts…Here are the blog posts I’ve come across to date following the event, that all provide some fine-tuned insight (in no particular order). If I’m missing a post, please holler at me and I will add it on to this accruing list.

• Geoff at Drink Spirits seemed to have a blog post updated within mere minutes of the tasting’s final slainte!
• Blair at Good Spirits News compares whisky samples to The Beatles
• 2500 miles wasn’t enough to keep Scotch Hobbyist Jeff from participating in the tasting
• Hal of A Muddled Thought takes “A look at the blend behind Chivas 18”
• Half the Whisk(e)y Apostle duo was live in NYC, but both authors provide invaluable insights
• The gentlemen behind Whisky Party rallied the troops and whetted our appetites for the tasting ahead
• Update 12/9/10 – NY Drinks Examiner Robert Haynes-Peterson remembers “Ol’ Blue Eyes” himself, Frank Sinatra, with a toast to Chivas 18.

I must also add that we had a fantastic cocktail created especially for this live event from PDT’s Lindsay Nader. Here is the delightful recipe:

The Crooner Fizz

• 2 oz Chivas Regal 12
• .5 oz Chairman’s Reserve Rum
• .5 oz lemon juice
• .5 oz raisin syrup

Add all ingredients to a champagne flute and top with Perrier Jouet Champagne.

Slainte!
SJ