Do you blend

[Bret Bret]

In the past I've blended Willett pot still reserve with full bodied bourbons (1 to 1) because it really pulls out the best  flavors of the full bodied bourbons like ECBP, McKenna BIB, and Stagg Jr. The Willett is a light bodied juice, not terribly complex, that does not interfere with the other flavors, just enhances them. Right now, I'm blending Jos Magnus (in small quantities) with other bourbons and finding a very favorable flavor profile (try to say that 3 times quick!). Anyone else blending?

[Richnimrod]

Blending is a lot of painstaking work, if it's to be done correctly; and it requires a good deal more knowledge than I can boast. 

On the other hand just pouring one or two together to make more shelf space,  or adding dregs to a 'solera' bottle with no expectation of fabulousness (is that a word?), is right up my alley. 

I occasionally have made a mixture that improves on either of the ingredients, and once in a great while have hit upon a real gem (these are pretty much happy accidents, given my meager understanding of actual blending).

Drinking the Bourbons I have, or have made, is definitely in my wheelhouse!

A last thought: Those Willet Pot Still bottles are truly unique... and real PITA to find space for on most shelves.   ...Just sayin'.....

[fishnbowljoe]

Some of us refer to blending as vatting. There are a couple of older threads here on the subject. To answer your question though, yes a few of us here vat/blend. Myself included. 

 

Biba! Joe

[evasive]

A last thought: Those Willet Pot Still bottles are truly unique... and real PITA to find space for on most shelves.   ...Just sayin'.....

Yup. I’ve bought one, and don’t see buying another. Partly for that reason, partly because it didn’t do much for me.

[GaryT]

To Joe's point, we may use different labels(vatting, mingling, etc), but I know when I find a bottle that I'm not fully enjoying I'll think about if there's a way to mingle it with something else I have (but not at the cost of losing something else I enjoy on its own).  Aside from the SB Blend, the only 'full bottle mingle' I have that was from retail purchases (and not some failed experiment) is a Collingwood 21yr Rye w/ a WFE 5 Yr Rye (I LOVE the WFE 5yr, and miss going in and grabbing one for $35 or $40; but it really enhanced the Collingwood 21yr quite a bit I felt without overpowering the nuance that the older but lower proof bottle brought).  But I'll experiment with mingles using 2oz sample bottles first (as I do let them sit for 24-48 hours before tasting).

 

[Old Hippie]

I work for a spirits wholesaler. We had a function last year where we invited 15 accounts to do their own 2 barrel blend of Woodford Reserve. After the exercise I ended up with 11 200 ml bottles of barrel proof WR single barrel samples that were about half full. All were within a point or two of 130 proof.  I ended up emptying out a liter bottle and blending these all together. It's a hell of a bottle of WR and it is a monster. 

[Bob_Loblaw]

I dabble, but nothing too creative and for the most part stick to the same distillery/mash.  I don't blend a whiskey I do not enjoy as I think it more likely that I will just create a larger amount of blah juice vs finding some magical fix.  It will just become the cocktail/cooking bottle.  Blends I have done:

 

GW4G - Not sure who to credit, but this came from someone here.  Its a mix of WSR and OGD114.  I find the sum quite a bit better than the parts and actually only buy the 114 if I plan on mixing this as I do not care much for it on its own.  I mess around with the ratios and currently have sample bottles of three versions ranging from 94-100 pf.  

 

I tried the Weller blend, credit FishnBowlJoe, which is 1:1:3  parts W12, W107, WSR  (note 5oz, 5oz, 15oz fits perfectly in a 750)  Here I found the parts to be preferable to the sum but after reading some of WhiskeyBlenders notes on whiskey marriage think I should have let this one sit for longer.  Either way, I am currently off the Weller bandwagon with the price hikes.

 

Stagg Jr./Eagle Rare - I thought this blend was fantastic!  ER on steroids and had a fantastic cherry cola nose with tons of flavor.  Was pretty pleased with myself until I went back and tried EHSiB which was pretty much the exact same thing!  One of my favorite bottles.  

 

EC/ECBP - Messed around with this several times to add some oomph to the regular EC, always turns out well.  I recently mixed the final 150ml of 5 different EC store picks and 2 batches of ECBP  that resulted in a 104pf blend.  For once I let it sit and will be trying it for the first time this weekend.  I have high hopes.

 

I was considering doing some blending with all 10 4R recipes I have open, but thus far I have had a difficult enough time just doing blind tastings.  Maybe I will mix 100 ml of all 10 and have a BP Yellow Label just for fun.  Actually, that does sound pretty good.  

[fosmith]

I've tried the GW4G and agree it's really good.  Two of my own successful blends have been:

 

1. Equal parts of EW BiB and HMK 10 BiB.  To me, the HMK is sometimes too woody and astringent and the EW a bit young.  Blending solves both those issues for a rich, smooth and complex drink.

 

2. What I call "Poor Man's Booker's 30th"  B30, IIRC, is about 2/3 9yr and 1/3 16 yr. juice.  My blend is 2/3 Booker's Kitchen Table (or any other batch) and 1/3 KC SiB 14 yo store pick.  Regular Booker's, at 6 yo, seems a bit young and the 14 yo store picks are delicious but strong on the oak.  The 14 yo store pick adds depth and complexity to the Booker's and the Booker's adds some freshness to the KC. 

 

I don't carefully measure or allow "mingling" time for the above.  I just eyeball it into a glass and enjoy.  YMMV....

[rjg1701]

My first foray into blending was an attempt to make 100 proof JD using a combination of SB BP and a 150th Anaversary at 86 proof.  Was good fun and had gotten the idea from a Ralfy video where he Blended in some non-chill filtered single malt into the standard distillery release to enhance it.  Since then made a few batches of GW4G and made a few distillery vats (RR10+RR SiBl;ECBP+EC+Larceny+EW BiB;ER10+AA+Stagg Jr).  Also occasionally do an in glass mix with JB BIB and Jonny Walker Black which is very good considering how I feel about the ingredients on their own.

[JvW]

Yep...and love it.

 

[Bob_Loblaw]

2 hours ago, JvW said:

Yep...and love it.

 

Oh yeah, this is on my radar to try for sure.

[BrokeCal]

I recently made a blend for the first time.  I had a bottle of EWSB that just wasn't doing it for me.  After a couple glasses I got fed up and added 100ml of EC.  I let it sit for a week and then gave it a try.... It completely changed the EWSB to something I don't mind sipping at all. With this successful experiment you can bet I'll be trying it again if I run into another bottle I don't particularly enjoy all that much.  But I think I'd only resort to the practice to save a bottle I don't particularly enjoy, that way you're not really risking much.

Edited April 13, 2019 by BrokeCal

[fishnbowljoe]

On April 11, 2019 at 5:16 PM, fishnbowljoe said:

Some of us refer to blending as vatting. There are a couple of older threads here on the subject. To answer your question though, yes a few of us here vat/blend. Myself included. 

 

Biba! Joe

For some of you newer members, I've been blending Weller's in one form or another since 2013. While maybe not perfection, last years blend was one of my personal favorites. I liked it well enough that I made three different batches of it.  Included below is a pic of an old label/bottle blend that I threw together using the same ratios as my 2018 Blend. 

 

Biba! Joe

[CUfan99]

I have a couple of vatted sample bottles as test projects. 

OF 1915 and Rebel Yell 10 yr SiB with Willett 4 yr rye. I’m going to let them mingle a couple more months as suggested by Whiskeyblender. 

[Charlutz]

I dabble a bit, so far just to tweak similar flavors. I really like Stagg Jr. : ER in a 1:2 ratio. I’ll also do OF1915. Finally, I think 1792FP is too hot and 1792PF has too much port flavor and not enough punch. Married together 1:1 is Goldilocks for me. I’ve also tried the original SB Weller blend but I like the parts much better than the marriage. 

[ebo]

I don't blend much of anything ....unless I have a bottle that I just can't drink without a little help...lol.

 

I bought a couple bottles of FR Yellow Label a few years back because so many people seemed to love the stuff.  I thought it was/is a tasteless, bland pour, So I started vatting it with Bulleit. I got through one bottle and gave the other away. The Bulleit made the FRYL somewhat drinkable to me... but not enough to kill another bottle...lol.

[flahute]

22 hours ago, ebo said:

I don't blend much of anything ....unless I have a bottle that I just can't drink without a little help...lol.

 

I bought a couple bottles of FR Yellow Label a few years back because so many people seemed to love the stuff.  I thought it was/is a tasteless, bland pour, So I started vatting it with Bulleit. I got through one bottle and gave the other away. The Bulleit made the FRYL somewhat drinkable to me... but not enough to kill another bottle...lol.

You were blending Four Roses with Four Roses so were basically just upping the proof.

[ebo]

14 hours ago, flahute said:

You were blending Four Roses with Four Roses so were basically just upping the proof.

I know. Someone here gave me the tip to blend with the Bulleit because FR was making it for them. 

 

Even upping the proof didn't help the FRYL  enough for me to enjoy it...lol.

[smokinjoe]

15 hours ago, ebo said:

I know. Someone here gave me the tip to blend with the Bulleit because FR was making it for them. 

 

Even upping the proof didn't help the FRYL  enough for me to enjoy it...lol.

I hear what you’re saying, as I had never been able to get into the Yella Label...until...I dropped it into the freezer for a Summer Hot Day Sipper, based on my bros and others recs.  Outstanding, in that capacity.  As a last resort (it was mine  ) you might try that.  

[PowderKeg]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:05 PM, JvW said:

Yep...and love it.

 

50/50 or some other ratio?  I like 'em both separately, although the 1910 sometimes has an musty oak aftertaste.  Tried 50/50 and while really good in combo (takes the slight edge of the 1920), still get a hint of mustiness.   I let 'em mingle for @ month before a pour.

 

Also tried a 50/50 4G mix of DN1843 and OGD114 - the OGD is too harsh for me alone, but the DN addition (which I really like) really boosts the combo, while not dropping the proof quite as much as WSR.  Gotta compare it one day to the other 4Gs I've got - RH and SAC.

Edited April 21, 2019 by PowderKeg

[JvW]

4 hours ago, PowderKeg said:

50/50 or some other ratio?  I like 'em both separately, although the 1910 sometimes has an musty oak aftertaste.  Tried 50/50 and while really good in combo (takes the slight edge of the 1920), still get a hint of mustiness.   I let 'em mingle for @ month before a pour.

 

Also tried a 50/50 4G mix of DN1843 and OGD114 - the OGD is too harsh for me alone, but the DN addition (which I really like) really boosts the combo, while not dropping the proof quite as much as WSR.  Gotta compare it one day to the other 4Gs I've got - RH and SAC.

Absolutely, let the 1910 and the 1920 get to know each other, but indeed it was a 50/50 mix, therefore 1915/1915 and I really like the combo...I will try a 40(1920)/60(1910) mix in the future to get the edge off the 1920 in one bottle and add a little heat to the other, then call them 1914 & 1916...will report back with a SBS taste of all 3...