Since 1830, when Aeneas Coffey revolutionised whisky with the invention of his continuous Coffey still, blends have dominated the Scotch scene. Through his patented distillation method, Coffey had enabled whisky to be produced far more quickly and cheaply than ever before. What is known today as grain whisky came into existence — and so it was blended with malt. Blending made whisky more palatable and plentiful. As the industry developed, it was normal for distilleries to trade stocks with each other to craft their own recipes. This practice continues in Scotland. Modern-day blends can have as many as 40 different component parts. It is partly why the industry thrives (let’s not forget, blends account for more than 90 per cent of Scotch whisky).
What may be surprising is that this blending culture is actually pretty unique. In Japan, the big producers mostly keep themselves to themselves, producing their own malt and grain whiskies to
