Johnnie Walker

Whisky #552: White Walker By Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky

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White Walker By Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky. Scotland. ABV: 41.7%. Tasted in a very non-wintery locale poolside in the sweltering heat of Phuket, ฿1700 (approx. $75AUD) for a 750mL bottle.

Winter is here…

Coinciding with the final season of the wildly popular Game of Thrones TV show comes this unashamed marketing claptrap from Johnnie Walker and Diageo. But how does it stand up as a whisky?

Yet again the burden falls upon Whisky a Day’s shoulders to step forth beyond the wall, taste another whisky and pass on my musings. In the words of Tyrion Lannister, “that’s what I do – I drink and I know things”.

Colour: Pale gold.

Nose: Soft lemon sponge cake and creamed honey.

Palate: Grassy hay-like notes bouncing off melted butter and soft caramel flavours. Honey and black pepper. A surprisingly fuller body than other Johnnie Walker whiskies or other blended whiskies.

Finish: A pleasing but unusually long finish for your average Johnnie Walker. A sweet, creamy and oaky tang lingers, like you’ve been sucking on the stick of a banana flavoured Paddle Pop ice cream for just a bit too long.

Comments: A clever play on words as a marketing gimmick to capitalise on the Game of Thrones phenomenon? Absolutely. As a whisky though? Surprisingly decent and much bolder in flavour and body than your typical Johnnie Walkers.

The label declares the heart of the White Walker to be single malts from Cardhu and Clynelish. Without knowing the rest of the vatting, I suspect that there might be a lower proportion of grain whisky that’s gone into this blend as it has plenty of oomph flavour-wise, especially at only 41.7% ABV.

When so many other whiskies proudly proclaim to be non-chill filtered, some might say it’s a bold move for a whisky to declare on the back of the bottle that not only is it chill filtered, but “best served cold directly from the freezer”. It’s like the marketing department at Diageo have decided “bugger it, no use hiding the fact our juice is chill filtered, so given the White Walker connotations let’s really own that label!”

The label on the bottle even reveals the surprise text “WINTER IS HERE” when the bottle is put in the freezer.

With the White Walker, there’s no “red wedding” sense of betrayal at a behemoth of a commercial brand like Johnnie Walker having sold out and compromised their product by slapping a Game of Thrones marketing badge on the bottle. It’s a genuinely decent drop, though for flavour reasons I preferred to drink mine at room temperature.

Whisky #538: Johnnie Walker XR 21 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky

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Johnnie Walker XR 21 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky. Scotland. ABV: 40%.

Colour: Dark honey…or ranga royalty?

Nose: Burnt butter, toffee. With more time in the glass, blackcurrant Soothers throat lozenges, liquorice and soft old oaky casks. My whisky tasting lieutenants Dan and Kiwi (aka ranga royalty) picked up some berries and creme brûlée.

Palate: A cool, thin mouthfeel; salted caramel and buttery fresh pastry flavours. Our good mate Benooch (while not a whisky man, but normally inhales absolutely anything alcoholic) described it as like an alcohol wipe over the tongue, but after a few more sips and time in the glass found it softened on his palate with each sip.

Finish: Quite a short finish. Buttery burnt orange with a brown sugar finish.

Comments: The nose is the star here, a real chameleon. Thin on the palate, but surprisingly exceeded my expectations. Much more flavour intensity than I’d expected. There’s a bit of something for all palates in this one – it’s the type of whisky you can have in a group of friends who are all at different stages of their whisky journeys. A great all-rounder.

Kiwi (aka ranga royalty) assessing the colour of the Johnnie Walker XR 21 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky.

Whisky #429: Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky

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img_7968.jpgJohnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky. Edinburgh, Scotland. ABV: 40%. Tasted at home, $55 (bottle).

Peat Week, Day 3. Why should the single malts get all the peat? The Johnnie Walker Double Black is a blend with plenty of peat.

Colour: Light copper.

Nose: A little uninspiring; it’s a very light nose.  A hint of smoke and some sweet oaky notes, but you’ve really got to work hard to get many aromas.

Palate: Exceedingly smooth entry, an oily mouthfeel yet quite thin on the palate. Soft smoke and creamy woody notes – a bit like sucking on a ice cream stick after you’ve finished the ice cream.

Finish: Butter menthols and a gentle smokey fade, medium length.

Comments: Contrary to popular misconception, the Double Black is not merely the next step up in class from the Black Label in the Johnnie Walker range. While it is built upon a similar base to the Johnnie Walker Black Label, the Double Black adds peated Scottish west coast and island whiskies, some aged in casks that were deeply charred.

I found it to be a very lightly peated and somewhat lightly flavoured dram, yet very easy to drink. The kind of whisky you could drink and enjoy on auto-pilot when you get home from work. Perhaps not unsurprising for a blended whisky at 40% ABV and priced so keenly at $55 /bottle.

But in that respect it does have a place in your whisky collection. If you’re on a tight budget or are taking your first few tentative steps in exploring peated whisky, this is a good way to dip your toe in the water. Ditto if you want a cheap quaffing whisky for midweek drams, or for those friends who come around and you don’t want to pour a dram of your $300/bottle Bruichladdich Octomore Edition 6.3 Cask Strength Single Malt. Overall, a respectable whisky to have on hand, but certainly not one to race out and have at all costs.

Peat Week! 7 Days of Peated Whisky

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img_7936.jpgIt’s Peat Week here at Whisky a Day! 7 days of peated whisky.

It’s been a rainy Sunday here in Sydney, one of those long lazy afternoons that you just don’t want to finish. Not because it’s been a particularly spectacular day, but mainly because it’s been a relaxing day that is soon to be cut short by the notion of heading back to work again tomorrow morning!

So with the last vestiges of cool weather lingering, I thought it the perfect excuse to have a peated dram. Which led me to think – bugger it, why not have a whole week of peated whisky? Exploring a few different styles of peated whisky?

To a lot of people, peated whisky equates to whisky from the island of Islay in Scotland. While there are many fine examples of peated whisky from Islay, I thought it would be interesting to also explore a few peated whiskies produced in other regions around Scotland as well as a little further afield.

So here’s this week’s lineup…

Some Australian whisky to start as we explore the peated range from Limeburners. Closely followed by the recently released (and much anticipated) Lagavulin 8 Year Old to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Lagavulin distillery. The Johnnie Walker Double Black then gets a call-up, highlighting that it’s not just single malts that get all the peat. Moving across to Speyside where we’ll dabble in some Glenrothes, followed by zipping back west to the Isle of Skye to sample the Talisker Storm. Then it’s back to the home of peaty whisky – Islay – for the Bowmore 18 Year Old, before finishing off the week in style with a very rare Port Ellen 30 Year Old bottled by Douglas Laing.

So strap in your tastebuds, slip into those comfy slippers and turn off the fire alarms…it could get a little smokey in here this week.

Whisky #347 – Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky

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IMG_4424Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky. Kilmarnock, Scotland. ABV: 40.00%. Tasted at The Royal Hotel, $35.

Colour: Pure gold.

Nose: Surprisingly complex – I was not expecting that. Light floral and almost a few sherry-like fruit notes. The barest touch of oak too.

Palate: A very smooth entry with a cooling sensation as it floats around your mouth. Oily mouthfeel, vanilla and floral notes.

Finish: Medium length. A salty fade initially, but then there’s a semi-sweet buzz of honey and gentle warmth that tingles on your gums long after you swallow the last drop of liquid.

Comments: I was a bit apprehensive about tasting the Johnnie Walker Blue Label, as it has so much hype and I was prepared to be quite disappointed. However, I really enjoyed it.  It has fantastic complexity for a blended whisky and a great flavour profile, not unlike some single malts actually. I think it’s overpriced and there are better value blends to be had, but if you don’t mind paying for the marketing it’s actually a very enjoyable whisky.

Whisky #97 – Johnnie Walker Green Label Pure Malt Scotch Whisky

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IMG_2797Johnnie Walker Green Label Pure Malt Scotch Whisky. Kilmarnock, Scotland. ABV: 43.00%. Tasted at Canton Lounge, $17.

Colour: Golden amber.

Nose: Mandarin peel (definitely not Cantonese peel).

Palate: Soft peaty & briny flavours. Plenty of spice and some dried fruit flavours; very smooth.

Finish: Gentle spice and a bit of pepper lingers at the front of the tongue. Quite dry and clean, a medium to long finish.

Comments: A lot more character than other Johnnie Walkers, the Green Label is certainly the best offering from the vast Johnnie Walker stable that I’ve tried. Perhaps because I normally gravitate to single malts, particularly the fuller flavoured ones with lots of flavour complexity and spices, so your typical Johnnie Walker blend just doesn’t really do it for me.

I had heard that the Johnnie Green was once known as a “vatted malt”, but that this term has now been replaced by the more correct “blended malt”.  This is supposed to differentiate this type of whisky as being a blend of single malt whiskies, rather than a blend containing inferior and cheaper grain malts.

The Johnnie Walker Green Label has been discontinued, which explains why some bottles has been fetching some surprising prices online. In my opinion it’s a shame it is no longer made, it never pretended to be a world-beating whisky but it’s probably the most under-rated Johnnie Walker offering around. If you can get your hands on a bottle, it will be good for drinking, but dare I say in time it might make a good investment as the last supplies dry up.

Whisky #14: Johnnie Walker Platinum Label Blended Scotch Whisky

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IMG_2523Johnnie Walker Platinum Label Blended Scotch Whisky. Fife, Scotland. ABV: 40.00%. Tasted at The Grosvenor Hotel, $18.

Colour: Deep gold

Nose: Slightly peaty, tobacco notes. Like a cigar, reminded me of a familiar scent, what might it be? Is my nose getting more attuned to different scents? No. Only then did I realise there was a guy two tables away smoking a Montecristo No.3. Clearly I am an idiot. I moved inside away from the cigar, though I still stand by the original slight peaty/tobacco scents. Of the whisky.

Palate: Slightly sweet to start, quickly moves to more spicy flavours. Could have done with a drop or two of water perhaps?

Finish: Definitely not as smooth as others I’ve tried thus far, warms the mouth, has a spicy then smoky aftertaste. A little harsh.

Comments: Not a huge fan, it’s ok but lacks a bit of complexity and smoothness. Had higher expectations, overpriced for what it is in my opinion. Had to try a Johnnie Walker at some stage, thought I’d give the Platinum a go & leave the Blue for another day.