I can understand your feeling about blended whiskeys ... amongst single-malt afficionados, they do tend to get a bad name. Why put down a good tasting drink, indeed? HOWEVER, most single-malt lovers feel their drink is superior to a blend mainly for the reason that a single-malt whisky possesses a more outstanding (and therefore definable) CHARACTER. A blend may taste good overall, but individual taste and nose features in such drinks are often far too complex to experience in the aesthetic manner that single-malts are often enjoyed in. This is not to say a particular blend may not be a fine drink; I enjoy Chivas myself from time to time. But single-malt whiskies are enjoyed in a very different manner than blends are.