Gift a Whisky Lover’s Chemistry Set with this Home Blending Kit from Chivas

Chivas Regal Blending Kit. Courtesy Chivas.
Chivas Regal Blending Kit. Courtesy Chivas.

Remember how much fun it was to play with beakers and pipettes of randomly colored liquids in grade school? You can now transform those childhood first chemistry set memories into an adult-only gift with this interactive whisky blending kit from Chivas Regal.

The Chivas blending kit ($35) includes 5 scotch whiskeys to experiment with: 4 singles malts, and 1 blended grain whisky. These 50ml blending elements are categorized into flavors: floral, fruity, creamy, smoky, and citrus. A bottle of the signature house blend, Chivas 12, is provided for inspiration, alongside a pipette, a beaker, and a bottle to house your own signature concoction.

Within the world of Scottish whisky brands, Chivas Regal would easily qualify as a master in the blending arts. Master blender Colin Scott describes the blending art as, “understanding the many different flavors in Scotch whisky is like the work of a composer: not only do you need to completely understand the musical characteristics of every instrument, but you must also understand how to combine them to build an unforgettable, spellbinding symphony.”

With this melodic mindset, Chivas Scotch provides an interactive blending opportunity for the home drinker. While home blending has grown as a whiskey hobby in recent years thanks to the infinity bottle and such amateur blends as Poor Man’s Pappy, blending kits are still quite rare, and rarely offer this much education and guidance to the home drinker.

You may have missed out on whiskey advent calendar season, but this engaging blending kit (with enough booze to do a little tasting along the way) is a great alternative (even if it’s not bourbon).

And it’s no big deal if this isn’t a surprise gift, because you can even begin playing with flavors on their website before receiving the kit.

Get yours here.