A matter of art in a glass
What makes a great blend,and why do the biggest brands command such loyalty? Ian Buxton reports
I can buy blended Scotch whisky at Tesco for £6.86. Itâs called Horseman. A full 70cl bottle and the proper 40% ABV strength it carries the claim âDistilled, Blended & Bottled in Scotland.â That means itâs at least three years old and contains some single malt whisky. The name of the proud producer is given as Wauchope Moodie with a postcode which, curiously enough, is shared by Whyte & Mackay (âsame initials as well, Holmesâ). The name Wauchope Moodie does not appear in the two important trade reference books I consulted whilst a search at Companies House indicates that it is a ânon-tradingâ company (âcurious, Watsonâ).
Itâs certainly a non-profit making company because, as Dave Broom pointed out in issue 48, a retail price of £6.86 leaves around 37 pence after tax to cover the cost of the bottle, label, closure, carton, distribution â and the whisky itself.
But Iâve got a glass beside me as I write this.
Unsurprisingly, Horseman is not the greatest whisky Iâve ever tasted. But then I didnât expect it to be.
More importantly, itâs not the worst whisky Iâve ever drunk. I can imagine that if you were serving this over ice, or with a strongly flavoured mixer, or late at night to some not very close chums whoâd had a few, it might well find a useful role in your drinks cabinet.
In fact, in a recent tasting at a sumptuous private club I served it blind to some wealthy merchant bankers who reckoned they knew their whisky. No-one voted it .....
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By Ian Buxton
Section : Whisky Blends
Page number : 22
