Whisky Review: Johnnie Walker Green Label

Johnnie Walker Green Label

Category
Blended Malt.

Age Statement
15 years

ABV 
43%

Format
750 ml

Closure
Cork stopper.

Nose (undiluted)
Splendid!  Luxuriant!  Floral!  Bouquet of apple and cherrie blossoms.  Nice honey sweetness.

Palate (undiluted)
Honey, peanut brittle, marzipan and baklava with a swirl of peat, dark red sherry and a flourish of smoke. Delightful briny water and peat (Talisker and Caol Ila for sure!) flourishes against the honey background.

Finish (undiluted)
Long.  Lingering subtle waves of sweet peat that mingle with Swiss milk chocolate.  Nice accents of black pepper, Kosher salt and bergamot teas.

Green Label, a blend of four great single malts, is superior to a lot of 10 and 12 year old single malts out there on the market.  Do not fear the 'blended malt' moniker somehow being inferior to 'single malt.'  Cragganmore and Linkwood are honey and syrup like malts that pair with the peat, lemon zest and surf brine of Caol Ila and Talisker.  These are all great single malts on their own, and when combined together here, deliver a complex and delightful taste.

When they relaunched Green Label in 2016, the bottling I had was rather flat in taste.  Just a boring honey Speyside style.  Now, a year later, it appears the Master Blender and team have spiced things up with what I suspect is a lot more Talisker and Caol Ila in the mix.  Vast improvement.

Highly recommended!

Cheers!



Jason Debly