Mixed Feelings

American blended whisky, long a joke in serious spirits circles, is now capturing the attention of the connoisseur class. Why the sudden respect?

- Jonah Flicker

AMERICAN WHISKY HAS exploded in popularity over the past 20 years-in 2023, more than 31 million 9-litre cases of it were sold in the US, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States-but there has remained one dirty word that nobody really wants to talk about: the 'blend'. Mention the term to any dedicated liquor aficionado and you'll probably be met with a dismissive sigh, which is preferable to the more likely option, a pedantic lecture on why blended juice isn't worth the plastic in which it's most likely bottled.

Yet, these notions have been slowly and steadily evaporating, like the angel's share, as a new wave of producers elevates the much-maligned American blend. In fact, some of those aforementioned whisky snobs are now on the hunt for premium expressions to add to their collections-a reversal that many, as they readily admit, never saw coming.