Read more: The Scotch Whisky Report 2024

That was especially apparent in tasting for The Scotch Whisky Report 2024. In this deep dive into the premium-plus sector, blends shone throughout the tasting. I awarded 99 points to The Long Marriage from House of Hazelwood, a stunningly intricate 56-year-old blend. Dewar’s Double Double 32 Year Old, a vibrantly expressive bottling, picked up 97 points. The Last Drop’s accomplished 40-year-old 15th Anniversary Release received 96 points. At the opposite end of the price ladder, Leith Export Co.’s 96-pointer Perpetuity, a sumptuous, silken treasure, offers extraordinary value at just £45. If you’re not considering blends, either as a drinker or as a collector, you’re missing out.

The quality is undeniable. So why is it taking so long for blends to gain traction among consumers? Perhaps the fact that blends account for up to 90% of the Scotch market makes them feel somehow less special? But that argument dissipates as soon as these extraordinary bottles are considered in their own right.

‘Interestingly, the growing presence and quality recognition of single malt Scotch whisky has been key to much of the creative work now being targeted at blended Scotch whisky,’ says Billy Walker, master distiller at single malt Scotch distillery The GlenAllachie. He also crafts the White Heather blended Scotch line, with its 21-year-old bottling receiving 96 points in the Report for its striking complexity. For him, the blending inherent in single malts (the vast majority draw on many, many casks) has boosted creativity in blends. ‘There is a much greater focus on wood management and flavour building blocks, and this is resulting in significant quality uplift.’

It could be argued that the successes of William Grant & Sons’ single malt brands – Glenfiddich and Balvenie among them – enabled the business to create its House of Hazelwood brand in 2022. Its releases are small-batch – sometimes single cask – and, according to director Jonathan Gibson, are notable due to their character, provenance or production story. ‘For example, we have brought to market whiskies so unusual that if they were produced today, they could not be called Scotch at all,’ he says. This is due to how these greatly aged bottlings were married and blended. The complex stories ‘paint a picture not just of the liquid they hold but also of the changing face of the industry over time.’ Could it be that there is an even greater opportunity for storytelling with blends than with single malts?

Gibson is seeing that, with an increased appreciation for what blends can be, some collectors are much more open to them. ‘For those that want to truly understand Scotch whisky, opening the door to grains and blends creates a whole new chapter to explore.’ The Last Drop’s Jago thinks the industry will continue to promote the style ‘given the importance of blends to the industry through the centuries and the fact that they are still the bedrock of Scotch whisky’. For Walker, the existence of high-end bottlings alongside the more accessible major names helps to secure the future of the style. ‘There is a growing demand for bespoke, older blended Scotch whisky, which will ensure that blended Scotch whisky will continue to play a major role in the future,’ he says. ‘This will play out in parallel with ongoing demand for the big blends.’

Gibson agrees that there are ‘exciting, interesting things’ happening across the entire blended Scotch market. ‘The challenge has never been the quality of the liquid,’ he says. ‘It lies in opening the minds of collectors and enthusiasts to explore that liquid – and in a sense that’s the real “unknown” in all of this. It’s our aim to keep working on it, to keep shining a spotlight on just how good these whiskies can be.’ And having tasted a sizeable selection for The Scotch Whisky Report 2024, there is no doubt that blended whisky can be extraordinary.