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

Finally! A Review of Johnnie Walker Green Label!

Finally, I have acquired a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green Label that has been temporarily re-launched in Canada and the United States.  Special thanks to Mike for asking his mother to pick me up a bottle while she was recently in Florida!

As you will recall, a couple of years ago Diageo decided to stop producing it for the Canadian and US markets.  However, it was still quietly sold in Korea and a couple other places around there because it had such a strong following.

So, why the re-introduction which may be temporary?  Here is my theory:  Maybe Diageo stopped selling it in Canada and the US because sales were weak.  It was priced around the entry level 12 year old single malts, and so consumers were opting for those products while operating under the mistaken assumption that a single malt is always of superior quality to a blended malt.  Or maybe Diageo thought with an expanding market in China, Russia, India and other countries that they could make more money simply selling the single malts individually that make up Green Label.  This  blended malt is composed of four single malts: Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood and Caol Ila.

So, why the change of heart?  Sales of single malt have been weak as of late.  Bourbon, Canadian and Irish whiskies are eroding market share once held by single malt Scotch.  Don't take my word for it.  Read about it here:

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2015/apr/01/scotch-whisky-exports-decline-sales

http://www.wsj.com/articles/scotch-whisky-gets-left-out-of-the-party-1427922058?mod=e2fb

So, if Cragganmore, Caol Ila and Talisker are not selling well in Ukraine, Russia and China, maybe its time to start blending them into Green Label to sell off the excess stocks of those wonderful malts?  I dunno why Green Label is really back, but in any event, here is my tasting note:

Price Point
This is priced around the same as many 12 year old single malts.

ABV
43%!  Nice to see that Diageo did not tinker with the ABV.  A higher than normal ABV allows the drinker to experiment with a little water in the dram.

Nose (undiluted)
Apple blossoms, citrus notes, oak, malty and milk chocolate notes.

Palate (undiluted)
Heavier body than I remember from a couple of years ago.  Really coats the palate.  Wild spiced honey up front with considerable sweetness.  Maybe a little too sweet for my liking.  Soon thereafter malty notes appear with faint sherry and a flourish of gentle peat.

Finish (undiluted)
Not what I would call a sherried dram by any means, but there is a faint sherry note on the finish and the taste of bright red raspberries.  Maybe some cherries too.  Part your lips and inhale and the smoke comes, mild cigar smoke.  Davidoff?  H. Upmann?  Dominican Republic?  You be the judge.

. . .

Years ago I enjoyed JWG with a little water.  Specifically, one teaspoon to a double pour (1.5 oz) made the dram flavors more complex, so I just had to try that again.

Nose (diluted)
Peat and sea air, damp Fall leaves, scent of gardening and getting caught in a light summer rainfall.

Palate (diluted)
The addition of a little water tones down the spiced honey and Graham cracker action, and in its place reveals some complexity. H2O definitely improves this whisky. It brings out to the forefront of the palate crystal clear spring water; takes the sweetness down a notch and in its place is some dray balsa wood with lime and blood orange flavors.  Key lime pie for sure.

Finish (diluted)
Part your lips and breathe and taste the smoke drying on your palate.  Oak, faint dry sherry and black pepper.

General Impressions
I have to be honest.  Johnnie Walker Green Label is not as good as I remember it.  It is a pleasant Scotch whisky priced on par with many 12 year old single malts.  Green Label is superior to some 12 year olds like Glenfiddich, Glenlivet, Aberlour, but not say Cragganmore or GlenDronach (both of which I prefer to GL).

Green Label is now sweeter than it used to be and still lacking some complexity that it used to have.  It is less peated and smokey on the finish.  Where there was once a zing of peat drying across the palate there is now some very nice, but less dry key lime pie.  I wonder if the Talisker and Caol Ila components are in a lesser proportion to the older JWG.  It tastes like that is the case.

I remember it being candle wax or Swiss cheese dry on the finish with a truly impressive complexity that made me think this could easily pass for a single malt in a blind tasting.

Not anymore.  It is a a little too sweet and needs the water to lessen that trait.  But, even with the water, it is not as complex as it once was.  I am sure of this.  I clearly remember what it tasted like before and my blog posts about how great it was were not hyperbole.  It truly was incredible.  The bottle I find in front of me is good, but not incredible.  It is fair value and in terms of flavor is good as a few 12 year old single malts like Auchentoshan, Glenfiddich and others.  But it no longer rivals 18 year old single malts as it once did.  I am a little disappointed.  If you are looking for a similar honeyed profile in a blended malt (no grain whisky) I highly recommend tracking down a bottle of 12 year old Poit Dhubh.  Really fantastic right now and tastes a lot like JWG used to.

The flavors now are dangerously akin to syrup you put on your morning waffles.  Too sweet my friend.

There will always be some variability from batch to batch that is bottled, but the JWG of a few years ago was a show stopper.  Glenfiddich 15 years Solera, Cragganmore 12 and others that it once stood shoulder to shoulder with are now taller.

Cheers!



Jason Debly

P.S.  JWG is still a decent Scotch whisky that will serve as a fine gateway 'drug' to the Scotch whisky hobby.  Newbies will enjoy this very much.  The price is barely reasonable if you can buy it for $50.  It just lacks the over-the-top 'wow' factor.  The old JWG was drier on the finish, crisper leaving your palate feeling like a brilliantly weaved Persian rug.  You marveled at the complexity.  Now, JWG is much sweeter initially and through mid-palate.  The finish does dry somewhat, if water has been added, but not enough and noticeably less peat action.  It leaves your palate feeling like someone just laid some nice, pleasant, comfy, cushioned bedroom carpet.  Your toes feel good on it, but you don't feel special like when you walk over the Persian down in front of the fireplace.

Johnnie Walker Black Label - 12 yr old Blended Scotch Whisky

Johnnie Walker is, without a doubt, the most famous spirits brand in the world.  When people think "scotch" they invariably say "Johnnie Walker."  This is understandable in light of the fact that Johnnie Walker Red Label is the most widely available blended scotch whisky in the world.  It is virtually available in every country with the exception of North Korea and Saudi Arabia.  Well, actually it is reported the Saudi royal family are quite fond of it, but more about that later.

Now the question emerges . . . if it is so readily available, how good is it? Recently, critics had been whining about Johnnie Walker products as being not great or boring. You have to take such comments in perspective. This whining is similar to the complaints in the wine world with respect to Robert Mondavi wines. 

For the past 5-10yrs the wine critics have been beating up on Mondavi wines, but guess what? Mondavi also has monster market share and still produces a great value for money. I think there is a little bit of envy or resentment that a good product is readily available everywhere, and I think critics delight in finding some obscure winery operating in the foothills of Chile with an output of a 1,000 cases and declaring to the world that it is the best in its class. In such an environment it has been "fashionable" for critics to knock Mondavi wines and similarly scotch critics to bash the Johnnie Walker product line.  

The Johnnie Walker brand is produced by Diageo, a multinational company that produces a number of blended scotch whiskies (and at the same time owns a great stable of single malt distilleries).  Anyhow, blenders have closely guarded recipes and naturally the more expensive the single malts and grain whisky used, the higher the price. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that Johnnie Walker Red Label, a blend with no age specified with respect to the component scotches used is the least expensive and the least interesting, but still easy going on the palate. The next step up is the Black Label. It is a big step up from the Red Label. This is due in part to a different recipe blend and the component whiskies. 40 different malt and grain whiskies of at least 12 yrs are used. The core of this spirit is the single malt: Talisker.

Black Label has been around a long time. It was first marketed by the son of Johnnie Walker. The son, Alexander Walker started selling it around 1865 under the label "Walkers Old Highland" until 1906 when it changed to "Extra Special Old Highland". That branding remained until 1909 when the "Black Label" title was introduced and has remained ever since.

Suggested Serving
This is a blended scotch that can be drank neat. It is not "rough" or "burning" like some poor quality scotch. 

Tasted neat, it will present the full flavors detailed below. However, if this is your first venture into the scotch world, try a single large ice cube and pour just enough such that 50% of the cube is covered. Let it sit a couple minutes and the melting ice will smooth any remaining edges or gentle bite that you do not enjoy or are unaccustomed to. Lately, I prefer a shot with a teaspoon of water. Just perfectly takes away a slight graininess that is evident when consumed neat. The addition of water makes it more complex! Try it.

Nose

If you have added an ice cube to this blended scotch, it will dull the aromas that it would normally offer up had it been poured neat. If ice has been added, it is hard to pick up any scent other than some faint peat notes. Poured neat is another story. Neat: A beautiful nose of vanilla, followed by gentle peat, sea salt air (as if I was standing at a cliff, facing the coast of the Atlantic ocean with its salty waters crashing upon the rocks below), and then finally floral in nature with a hint of fresh orange rinds.

Palate

The taste experience commences with smooth, sweet cinnamon, caramel, toasted almonds, brown sugar, malt (think Cheerios breakfast cereal), some spiciness, but not to the point of pepper, which evaporates quickly into clouds of subtle peat and smoke.

Finish

Very restrained peat with a flourish of smoke and grains of sea salt round out this scotch tasting experience. The flavor does not linger long though if you have added ice. Where no ice is added, you will enjoy some lingering sea salt, restrained black licorice, peat and smoke enveloping the palate in a silky, luxuriant finish. No burn and only the slightest of heat (in a good way) upon swallowing, as this is very, very smooth!

General Impressions

Johnnie Walker Black provides a very enjoyable scotch drinking experience. The flavor profile is sweet, but balanced by the peat and smoke, such that the sweetness does not dominate, as it does in other blends (ie. Ballantines Finest). Therefore, it is fair to say that this scotch is perfectly balanced. Nothing is out of place. 

It has been said by commentators and repeated on the Johnnie Walker web site that the Black Label is a standard that all other blends are measured against. And this is true to some degree in an informal sense. At least this is the view of serious scotch drinkers. The chief reason why is because it is (as I mentioned previously) virtually available everywhere and very good. So, when drinking other blends it is natural to consider whether or not they measure up to Black Label. Moreover, consider the comments of the scotch authority, Jim Murray:

"Each day I have some 6,000 whiskies to choose from for a social dram if I want one. And at least once a week I will sample a Black Label. While the single malt revolution continues unabated, it is a shame that whisky lovers do not use this as a yardstick. They will find that very few malts can match this for complexity. This is the Savoy, the Everest of Deluxe Whiskies: there is not a blender who would not give their right arm - or even their left one - for the recipe of this supreme whisky. The trouble is, even if they had it, they would then struggle to find the stock. It represents the best value for money of any whisky in the world."

Well worth the money. A deluxe blend that should be a part of any persons scotch collection. Smooth enough to be enjoyed by the novice, yet sophisticated enough not to offend the connoisseur! Indeed there are a few 12 yr old single malts that are not as good. While the price point is a little higher than most 12 year old blends, it is worth it. I am also impressed by the quality control. The consistency of flavor from batch to batch is probably the best in the industry. I highly recommend this as a suitable gift for the person you know enjoys whisky but unsure which one. Finally, the author, William Manchester, in his biography of Winston Churchill reports that this was the old man's favorite, but the ringing endorsement I always get a kick out of was from Christopher Hitchens:

"The best blended Scotch in the history of the world - which was also the favourite drink of the Iraqi Baath Party, as it still is of the Palestinian Authority and the Libyan dictatorship and large branches of the Saudi Arabian royal family - is Johnnie Walker Black. Breakfast of champions, accept no substitute." 

Cheers!

Jason Debly

© Jason Debly, 2009-2014. All rights reserved except for photograph of Johnnie Walker Black Label appearing at the top of this post.  The photograph was taken by James Calvey and it is used here with his permission.  No reproduction of his photograph is permitted without his consent.  Mr. Calvey is the holder of all copyright to said photo.  Check out more of his great work at his Flickr account.