John Walker & Sons XR 19 Years Old

John Walker & Sons XR 19 Years Old is a blended Scotch from John Walker & Sons, marrying malt whiskies for character with grain whisky for a smoother, lighter frame. Grain from distilleries such as the closed Port Dundas often forms the backbone of blends like this. Port Dundas grain, light and sweet, was a natural fit for blends like this.

A blended Scotch combines malt and grain whiskies of different ages and origins. At 19 year old every component has spent years in oak, the malt lending depth while the grain gives a creamy, rounded base. Matured in a refill ex-Bourbon cask, letting the clean grain character speak. Distilled to a high strength, grain carries less congener weight than malt and matures in an oak led way. The blender's craft is to balance the parts into one whole.

At an easy 40% it is light. The malts bring honey, dried fruit and orchard sweetness, the grain a creamy vanilla and coconut, with creme brulee from the caramelised hemicellulose, lifted by the wood gives vanilla and a creamy coconut from the oak adding its own note. Sweet and creamy, it coats the palate gently. The finish is smooth, sweet and lingering. A rounded, approachable blend in the house style.