Most Malt Content

[sirius]

Which of the blends would you consider to have the highest malt content?

[Jojo]

It's my understanding that blended scotches run from 5% to 95% malted scotches. My guess is Johnnie Walker Blue would be your best example of a 95%. There's also a Scotch - Lombard Gold that is supposed to have a lot of malted scotch in it as does Buchanans. You will not find many Scotch companies that want to give you that info. Dewars is supposed to be "51%" malted scotch.

Here are a few pure malted scotches, which are a 100% blend of single malts.

All the Compass Point Scotches
Auchentoshen Select
Glenrothes Select
Cutty Sark Malted Scotch

[sirius]

Thank you Jojo for that clarification. It can be a bit perplexing sometimes; when trying to discern the different blends for malt content.

[sirius]

I thought that the Auchentoshen and Glenrothes Select were single malts. So, it is interesting to learn that they are pure malts (vatted). Are the malts in these two brands comprised of their respective regions or distillerys ? And what is the age range of these malts?

[sirius]

I recently discovered that-in the case of Glenrothes Select-it is a combination of several single malts from the same distillery; the youngest being 10yr. I mistakingly refered to this as a "vatted"/pure malt. It is, technically, a "pure" malt; but it is from the same distillery. So, I assume the same applies to the Auchentoshen Select.

[Glenafton]

On the label on the back of the Bailie Nicol Jarvie bottle there is the following statement:- "The Bailie Nicol Jarvie we believe, boasts the HIGHEST MALT CONTENT of ANY blended Scotch whisky."
This is a whisky produced by Glenmorangie so I would assume that most of the malt in this blend is Glenmorangie.

[sirius]

Thank you for your feedback. I am not familiar with Bailie Nicol Jarvie. Is it available in the US?

[Derek]

Hi. A Blend with a slighlty higher Malt content will usually say "Deluxe" on the bottle, even higher Malt content than that would say "Superior Deluxe".

Blenders are very secretive about what or how much goes into a blend so to say one particular brand to say it it "the highest" would usually be a marketing pitch.

I tried a "Superior Deluxe Blend" last night, the box says that there are over 30 Speyside Malts in it, but no mention of which ones or proportions. All I can say is that it was very nice :).

[sirius]

I want to thank the last person to post on this thread. There is a lot of enforced silence in the whisky industry involoving the persentage of malt whisky in any given blend; not to mention the identity of which one are used,
and the age of those respective whiskies....

[sirius]

In response to a previous post: Would that happen to be Antiquary 12yr or 21yr Superior/Deluxe Blend? And if so, is it available in the United States?

[Derek]

In response to a previous post: Would that happen to be Antiquary 12yr or 21yr Superior/Deluxe Blend? And if so, is it available in the United States?

Hi, you are correct, The Antiquary 12yo & 21yo are both Superior Deluxe Scotch, they have a high percentage of Malt in them.

It is available in the United States, the sole Distibutor is USDP in MN.

[Derek]

I want to thank the last person to post on this thread. There is a lot of enforced silence in the whisky industry involoving the persentage of malt whisky in any given blend; not to mention the identity of which one are used,
and the age of those respective whiskies....

Funny point to note on the ages of the spirit within a blend:
If you have a 25yo a 30yo and a 12yo in a blend the age on the bottle would be the lowest age of ANY spirit in it, in this case 12yo. Although no Blender would use such an extreme age variance, there are cases of getting a whisky that has older spirit in it than shown.

[sirius]

In response to Derek: Thank you again for your feedback. I think it is important to know the malt content, the age of the malt whiskies used in the blend, and the identity of those respective malt whiskies. It gives one a good insight as to what they might want to purchase. As for the Antquary, did you acquire it directly from USDP, or is there another source?

[Derek]

In response to Derek: Thank you again for your feedback. I think it is important to know the malt content, the age of the malt whiskies used in the blend, and the identity of those respective malt whiskies. It gives one a good insight as to what they might want to purchase. As for the Antquary, did you acquire it directly from USDP, or is there another source?

Hi Sirius, I am in the Highlands of Scotland, so I get my Antiquary locally. USDP are the wholesalers for USA and Canada, so they supply liquor stores etc. unfortunatly I don't know where they supply it to.

[sorren]

Hi, just looked on auchentoshan site and it lists the select as a single malt, if it is a mix can it still be called a single malt ?

[Derek]

Hi, just looked on auchentoshan site and it lists the select as a single malt, if it is a mix can it still be called a single malt ?

Sorren, your thinking is correct, a single Malt can only be one Malt.

[blenderm]

Just a quick answer on malt content, the only blend to state the malt content is Teachers Highland Cream at 45%. As it's on the label this has to be able to be proved legally. Many blends spread their "supposed" malt content by word of mouth or on websites which is not provable in law. I guess there's a big difference in what people say and whats legal