Black & White Blended Scotch

Duality in its name makes sense. Light, but with lurking heaviness. Lemony, but also sweet, all coated with basic graininess of a blend.

Nose: Cereal and a little sherry, citrus notes, malt, freshly baked bread. Not a particularly characterful nose but there's no ethanol taint and there is a tiny whiff of smoke. It's vaguely reminiscent of the Johnnie Walker blend character, but better - pleasantly crisp and light. [There is a greater smoky note on the dry-glass]. Palate: Wow! Totally unexpected! A full and creamy arrival with great balance. Sweet and fruity at first but then as it hits the palate a generous helping of well-articulated smoke rolls in ahead of a mouth-filling malt surge. It doesn't last for long but it makes a stunning impression while it does. The texture is silken and soft, and there is a mildly spicy character that lasts right until the end. Finish: Medium. Malty, spicy and sweet with a trailing aftertaste. There is a crisp, light cereal graininess in the finale that is quite elegant and it avoids any metallic stain. This is the first time I've ever tasted Black & White and I get why it is a firm favourite for some folks, but I can also see why others would hate it. It is a show-pony for grain whisky - very GOOD grain whisky with excellent flavour and texture - while the malt content is there purely to provide a dramatic and precisely defined malt, fruit and smoke counterpoint. It's an unusual way to create a blend. It has great simplicity and clarity of profile and that's kind of the downside as well. If you are not partial to light and breezy blends with a silky texture then this will seem either devoid of flavour or too much centered on "sweet but bland" grain whisky. If you crave a blend where the malt whisky content dominates the grain whisky then you'll not like this so much. It works stonkingly well either as a neat tipple (in which case it is way too easy to drink!) or with soda water where the character is in no way diminished by dilution. In fact I'd go so far as to say that this is one of the best lower-mid shelf blends I've tasted in a simple highball. The biggest thing going against it is the price, which puts it into direct competition with Johnnie Walker Black Label, Ballantine's 12, Dewer's 12 and any number of other good middle-shelf blends. In that company it gets a little lost, which is a shame as this is a pretty good dram. If it was cheaper I'd buy it again. I do think that the official score of 74 is pointlessly mean - this is easily comparable to blends that have been rated much more highly here and IMHO it's worth more like 80 at least. Oh, and one more thought - if you are a big fan of Compass Box Hedonism blended grain whisky then try a dram of that followed immediately by a neat taste of this. You will get the picture instantly, and Black & White may just be revealed as your favourite blended scotch. "Above Average" : 80/100 (3 stars)

Riddle me this: who sips a NAS Blended Scotch nowadays? Of course it's better suited as a Highball! The youth of both the Grain Whisky and the Malt, the light taste and texture are part of a whisky that simply begs to be used as a summer mixer. And you could drop a shot in your tea come Wintertime.