Blending your own Infinity Whisky

let’s begin

Create an Infinity Whisky by blending together the last drops of your bottles and discover your own blending talents at the same time.

The Art of Blending

Blending takes a long time to really get the hang of. Most Master Blenders have been doing it for decades. Training their palates and their noses to pick up on the smallest of aromas so as to better match malts and grain whiskies.

If you’ve ever tried a good quality blend then you can understand the quality that Master Blenders are striving for, so it makes sense that it would take a while to get to that point. So with that, you’re probably wondering what we mean by blending your own.

Well, it might take the experts years to refine their palates, but you can create your own pretty decent dram at home. Using the dregs of whatever malts you have in your whisky cabinet, you can create an Infinity Blend with a surprisingly good flavour.

Where to start

First, get an empty bottle or a decanter. We suggest using a bottle, as it means you can properly seal it after use. Decanters are great, but too much exposure to the air can effect a whisky’s taste. When using a bottle, just make sure you have enough space for all of the your malts to mix and if you find that you need a bigger container, then feel free to move onto something bigger.

Now that you have your container, grab a notebook so you can track how much of what you’re pouring into it. This means you can keep track of experiments, so when you land on something you like, you can recreate it.

With bottle and notebook in hand you are ready to start blending.

HOW TO BLEND AN INFINITY WHISKY

Gather up all of your unfinished malts and ask yourself what exactly you want to get out of this. You have two options:

To create something completely unexpected and new
To make a blend with a distinct flavour profile

The first option gives you free reign to do whatever you want. The second caters to what you might enjoy if you already know what flavour profile you prefer.

Once you know which you’re aiming for, you can begin to create it.

Start by analysing all of the drams you have available. Really get to understand them but nosing and tasting them. You should write your own profiles for each one, including flavour profile, key notes coming out and mouth feel. With this information, you can blend together drams that either complement each other, or mix it up a bit and try things that don’t typically appear together.

If you aren’t sure about mixing malts randomly, then start with a dram you know and love. Call this the starter whisky. Get to know this malt really well. Decipher key notes coming out and list the top three. Then, use it as a starting point to add others. You can add complementary malts with similar tasting notes or choose something completely different and see what happens.

Experimenting

A great way to experiment and trial new flavours is by adding whiskies with bold flavour profiles. Peated malts or heavily sherried drams are a great way to explore flavour and tease out new flavours in your favourite malts.

Combining big bodied whiskies with more subtle flavour profiles allows you to explore flavour in a different way and to better understand flavour combinations. Taste as you go so you don’t overwhelm the blend from the start.

Another great way to experiment is by using different whisky categories. Bring in a bourbon, or an Irish Single Pot Still and see what happens. You can use the characteristics of these malts to bring out more flavour in Scotches with similar flavour profiles, or just combine to see what happens. If you have a particularly high quality scotch be careful not to overwhelm the flavour, but again, try as you go and add it incrementally to really understand the flavours coming out.

Getting it right

There are lots of things that can go wrong when doing this, but there is also a lot that can go right. Take notes as you go, and go slowly. You might hit upon your next favourite blend, all from the comfort of you own home.

Have you ever made an Infinity Whisky before? Tell us about it in the comments!

Tags: blendingInfinity Whiskymaster blenders

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.

1 thought on “Blending your own Infinity Whisky”

Ed Leigh

October 3, 2020 at 8:29 pm

Great article as always Greg! Infinity bottles are a perfect way to make the most of the last drams in a bottle. Put them to good use. Cheers, Ed
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