The Famous Grouse Blended Scotch. This was the first bottle of any type of scotch I ever purchased. I’ve since repurchased and will continue to do so until I discover something else that’s better bang for the buck. I’m not really one to sip on scotch neat or on the rocks, so my primary use is really for blending in cocktails. And for that, I will very gladly stay in the affordable price range with this great blended scotch that’s been the best selling brand in Scotland for over a quarter century.

So, what is blended scotch? Just as it sounds, it’s a blend of a number of different whiskies, both those made from malted barley (“malts”) as well as those from grain (corn, wheat, rye, etc). The other major category of scotch is the single malts, which are made from malted barley from only a single distillery. Compared to single malts, blended scotches are generally milder or more mellow in flavor (and thus well suitable for cocktails), though they can of course be blended to any specification as desired.