CRN57° Vision is one of those bottles that catches your eye before you've even unscrewed the cap. A blended malt Scotch whisky — and I want to stress that distinction, because it matters. This isn't a blended Scotch in the traditional sense, with grain whisky padding out the blend. Every drop here is malt whisky, drawn from multiple distilleries and married together under the CRN57° label. At £34.75, it sits in a price bracket where you're spoilt for choice, so the question is whether Vision offers something worth reaching for over the usual suspects.
The "blended malt" category has been quietly producing some of the most interesting Scotch of the past decade. Freed from the constraints of a single distillery's house style, blenders can chase a flavour profile rather than a postcode. CRN57° appears to be doing exactly that — the name suggests coordinates, a sense of place and purpose, which is a welcome sign of intent rather than just marketing polish.
At 40% ABV, this is bottled at the legal minimum for Scotch, which is a minor mark against it in my book. I'd have liked to see this at 43% or even 46% — it would give the blend more room to breathe and more texture on the palate. That said, 40% is standard for this price point, and plenty of excellent whiskies work beautifully at that strength. It's a NAS (no age statement) release, which tells us the blenders wanted flexibility to select casks for flavour rather than being locked into a number on the label. That approach can go either way, but at this price, it's entirely reasonable.
Tasting Notes
I'll hold off on breaking this down into nose, palate, and finish in formal terms — the character of a blended malt like this really depends on which distilleries have contributed to the vatting, and CRN57° haven't confirmed their source malts. What I can say is that blended malts in this style tend to offer a rounder, more approachable profile than a single malt, with the blender smoothing out any rough edges while keeping enough malt character to reward attention. Expect something that sits comfortably between easy-drinking and genuinely interesting.
The Verdict
CRN57° Vision is a solid entry into a competitive field. The blended malt category deserves more attention than it gets — it's where craft blending really earns its keep, and at under £35, this is priced to encourage exploration rather than commitment. I'd have preferred a slightly higher bottling strength, but that's a quibble rather than a dealbreaker. For anyone curious about what good blending can achieve, or for someone looking for a dependable malt-only Scotch that won't punish the wallet, Vision makes a credible case for itself. A 7.5 out of 10 — it does what it sets out to do with enough confidence to warrant a second pour.
Best Served
Pour this neat in a Glencairn and give it five minutes to open up — at 40%, it doesn't need water, but a few drops won't hurt if you want to see what's hiding underneath. This would also work well in a Rob Roy if you're in a cocktail mood: the malt backbone should stand up nicely against sweet vermouth without being overwhelmed. On a Tuesday evening when you want something reliable and unfussy, Vision fits the bill perfectly.
