The making of home whiskey and bourbon blends (home vatting) is the process of taking two or more store-bought, single-malt whiskies and blending them together to create a custom flavor suited to your palette. Experimenting with the blending process will allow you to really get a sense of each whiskey’s characteristics and how they interact. Don’t ever dispose of a whiskey that you feel is not suited to your palette. These may still add a positive characteristic to a blend, and you won’t end up wasting a bottle.
For the first time, start by choosing two whiskies that have unique and different characteristics. In subsequent blends, don’t be afraid to try combining as many different whiskies as your taste buds desire. You may not always like the result, but no risk, no reward.
Initially choose one primary whiskey whose flavor you enjoy and add a smaller percentage of a whiskey that has a distinct characteristic. Maybe you have a lower end whiskey that is too smoky or spicy for your taste but might add complexity when blended with another single malt you enjoy. Adding a smaller portion of that to a whiskey lacking that characteristic can produce desired results. Start with a conservative portion of the lesser whiskey. You can always add more later.
Don’t forget to log your blends. Keep a notebook with the whiskeys, ratios, and maturations times you’ve tried. Log each single malts alcohol content and calculate your finished blends alcohol by volume content as well. This will help you to refine your blends and figure out what you most enjoy.
“The water was not fit to drink. To make it palatable, we had to add whisky. By diligent effort, I learned to like it.”
— WINSTON CHURCHILL