J&B Rare Blended Scotch

This is the first of a series of reviews I'm doing of a dozen affordable blended scotch whiskies. Nose: An initial ethanol and malt profile with some light honey, faint vanilla, and fruity notes. The fruit is somewhat citrus but best described as like the aroma of tinned fruit salad. Palate: A hot alcohol arrival with some accompanying metallic spice. This develops into a malty sweetness. Finish: Short as can be. The malty sweetness from the palate turns bittersweet and slightly metallic at the end. This is a very spirit-driven and grain-heavy blend with a thin and somewhat distant character. I’d wager that the malt content in this blend is quite low. It’s not actually unpleasant but there is so little going on with which you can engage that it’s not worth drinking neat. I did not detect any peatiness or smoke during tasting, but you can smell faint smoke on the dry glass, so it is there as a foundation - but it might just be the burnt metal note some young column-still grain whisky seems to have. As a mixer it is serviceable, if rather bland, but I wouldn't bother because at the price there are better blends. In some respects it is similar to modern Teacher's Highland Cream, but thankfully it avoids the bitter/sour character of that blend. "Adequate" : 72/100 (2 stars)

Not as peaty as I was led to believe but it's still there. Drinkable blend.