Ah, now if i changed my name to Uisge beatha, it's good to know more than a few of you would know it without having to turn to Google.
I come from a long line of, shall we say, whisky indulgers ("alcoholics" sounds so demeaning). And of course it's whisky, not whiskey. Having been fortunate enough myself to travel the length and breadth of Scotland on a, again shall we say, "tasting tour", I have to admit that I'm not at all a whisky snob. I'm more comfortable with a good blend than I am with most single malts (they say distilling is a science, but blending is an art. And after all, virtually all blends are heavily reliant, on the order of 80-85%, on one predominant single malt, with the balance being the added malts and grains). So if you find a blend you like, it's often possible to work backwards to the single malt that makes up most of it. I find the west coast and isles to be too peaty for my taste. The highlands a bit heavy on the grains. For me, Speyside is the region that produces the smoothest and most mellow malts, and my single of choice is Glenburgie. But it's far more accessible, and very reasonably priced, in the Ballantines blend. So nothing fancy there. A pretty pedestrian choice. But well suited for high volume consumption. After all, I'd want grandpa to be proud.
On a side note, wifey is strictly JW Black, always neat, never leaves home without at least a tiny flask in her purse. And if you want a real treat, I still have a little left of a bottle of 35 y/o Duncan Taylor that my daughter bought for me with her first (few) paychecks. $300 for a 750ml. It's like drinking honey water. If I could only find a pussy that tastes as good.