The economic advantages of creating a flavoursome drink out of grain whisky were not missed by the many wine & spirits merchants who took up blending, and since they were now able to achieve greater consistency of flavour, it also became possible - and desirable - to brand their creations and promote them.

Remarkable Victorians
The Victorian era produced many remarkable people, not least in the whisky industry. Between the late 1870s and the turn of the century a handful of astonishingly able and vigorous Scots promoted their new blended whiskies, first in London and then around the world. Many of them became immensely wealthy as a result, and several were elevated to the peerage - James Buchanan (The Buchanan Blend and Black & White) became Lord Woolavington; Tommy Dewar (Dewar's White Label) was made Baron Dewar of Homestall and his brother John, Lord Forteviot; Peter Mackie (of White Horse) was made a baronet and Alexander Walker (Johnnie Walker) was knighted.

They were assisted by a number of factors. First was the appeal of the product. Second, the growing fashion for things Scottish, led by Queen Vicloria herself. Third, the by now well established rail and sea routes, which made transportation far easier than previously. Fourth, by the existence of the British Empire, the biggest free market in the world.

The Vastetrix bug
Fifth, and most significantly was a bug, Vastetrix, which devastated the vineyards of France between the mid- 1860s and the late 1880s. The significance of the latter was immense. During the 1880s the vineyards of Grande Champagne were ruined and the production of Cognac virtually ceased. Brandy became almost unavailable. And brandy (with soda) was the drink of the English middle classes. Blended whisky (and soda) was there to replace it.