Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Ellen (John Walker & Sons)

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Ellen (John Walker & Sons) is a blended Scotch from John Walker & Sons, marrying malt and grain whiskies, with rare Islay malt such as Port Ellen among its components. Blends like this fold a whisper of legendary closed distillery smoke into a rounded whole. Most of its make once went to blends, but its single malt became the prize.

A blended Scotch combines malts for character with grain for a lighter frame. Drawing on well aged stock, the peated Islay malts lending smoke and the grain a creamy base. An ex-Bourbon hogshead held it, the soft oak letting the Islay character lead. The slow loss of the angel's share, a percent or two each year, has concentrated the liquid over decades. The blender balances the parts into one harmonious Scotch. The peat is the point here, drawn from Islay's smoky distilleries.

At 43.8% it is smooth and elegant. Honey, dried fruit and orchard sweetness meet a coastal peat smoke and crystallised lemon and a salty tang from the Islay malts. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. It closes long, smoky and maritime. A refined blend touched by Port Ellen smoke.