The Top Peated Blended Whiskies Under $50

If you hadn't guessed by the name, this is a peated blended whisky brought to us by the fine folks that produce The Famous Grouse. The malty component has been supplemented by peated whisky from Islay. Note: As of 2015, this has been discontinued and replaced with Famous Grouse Smoky Black which has a new formula and packaging.

Chivas Regal is a brand of blended Scotch whisky from the Chivas Brothers which launched a 25 year old blend as its first product back in 1909. Just after Prohibition in 1938, the brand launched its 12 Year blended Scotch whisky when it returned to the market. Today, Strathisla Distillery is at the heart of the Chivas Regal blend. Sandy Hyslop is the brand's master blender. Note: The brand updated its packaging in 2022 with an elongated bottle and contemporary design.

J&B began as most Scotch whisky blends did — through wine & spirits merchants. J&B stand for the names "Justerini", an Italian who had followed his heart to London and subsequently became a wine & liquor merchant, and "Brooks" who purchased the business a few generations later. The blend as we know it today came about in the 1930s, just after the end of Prohibition.

Created in 1820 under the name "Old Special Highland Whisky", Johnnie Walker Black was so named in 1909 as their customers had started to order their bottles by the label's color. Comprised of a blend of over three dozen distilleries, the malts in the whisky are largely comprised of peated distilleries such as Talisker and Lagavulin but also the unsung hero Cardhu. All of the whiskies included in the blend are aged a minimum of 12 years. (SRP $29.99-34.99 for 750ml)

Reports vary, but some say the term "The Real McCoy" became part of our lexicon due to a fellow named Captain William McCoy. A sea captain and notorious smuggler of Cutty Sark into America during Prohibition, McCoy gained a reputation for providing real and unadulterated whisky. The Prohibition Edition is produced in his honor.

At its heart, Johnnie Walker Double Black still retains the standard Black Label's style of whisky: a peated blended whisky. What they've done with the Double Black is let the whisky mature in deeply charred oak casks to intensify the smoky characteristic. That's right, they've doubled down (had to be said).

Black Bottle is a brand that has been around since the late 1800s, originally a product brought to market by brothers Charles, David and Gordon Graham in Aberdeen, Scotland. As expert tea blenders, they decided to turn their skills into blending whisky, which they released in a special bottle made with black glass from Germany. The product has had many incarnations since then, even changing package design, but is now under the leadership of distiller Ian MacMillan, who has revisited a recipe similar to the original, using Islay malts in the blend.

Created by Johnnie Walker blender Aimée Gibson, this release blends whiskies aged in wine casks which were filled over 10 years ago. It incorporates whisky from Cameronbridge and Clynelish distilleries. Bottled at 40% ABV, this will be available in global markets beginning September 2017.

This blended Scotch from Bladnoch combines Bladnoch's single malt (minimum 8 years old) with malt whiskies from Islay, Speyside, and the Highlands, along with malt and grain whiskies. The blend is finished in new American oak casks.

Compass Box's Great King Street line of blended whiskies has a new addition with the Glasgow Blend. Created to highlight a more robust and smoky whisky as, according to some, historically Glaswegians preferred this style, they have succeeded in doing just that. A blend with a large (67%) malt base, Compass Box uses a combination of barrels for aging: 1st fill sherry, 1st and refill ex-bourbon, and a small amount of new French oak barrels.