7 November 2013 Ruben * Blends

Johnnie Walker Blue label

Name: Johnnie Walker Blue label
Brand: * Blends
Rating: 3 (2 reviews)

The Blue one… the most prestigious whisky in the Johnnie Walker range. It’s supposed to be rich, oily and as smooth as it gets.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label includes some of Diageo’s rarer malt whiskies like Royal Lochnagar. Depending on your source, eight to fifteen other distilleries are part of this premium blended whisky. Bottles are numbered and they come in a silk-lined box.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label was introduced early 1990s and while it hasn’t always been widely available, it’s still the well praised top of the range.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label
(40%, OB +/- 2012)

Nose: surprising amounts of toffee, with a sharpish / acidic side to it as well. Cereal notes (bread), some dried fruits and orange peel. Berries. Some lime. Vanilla. Give it some time and it develop into a decent blended nose.

Mouth: medium bodied, nice enough, with toasted notes, grains and citrus. Quite a lot of floral notes alongside the soft sherry. Berries and ginger. Toffee. Good balance of sweet, spicy and acidic, but a bit characterless if you ask me (a bit of everything but nothing in particular). Fades on oak and citrus tea.

Finish: not too long, returning to the grainy notes, with ginger and a slight zesty note.

It’s smooth indeed, with a flawless balance, but it’s not a very proud blend, if you know what I mean. We expected a bit more at this price point, I would even say ‘smoothness’ is not exactly a high priority in this price range, I’m looking for character and Johnnie Walker Blue Label doesn’t really show much of it. At around € 150, I can think of a whole list of single malts which offer more individuality and intensity.

Score: 83/100

3Comments

Add yours

1

Chad on 15 March 2014 at 18:31

I lose respect for every reviewer who bashes on JW Blue. Yes it’s over priced but still its a very nice whisky, and I have a collection of 65 Single Malts…I love them all from Islay to Speyside…and the blends to. JW Blue is not better nor worse…simply a different type of dram that amplifies smoothness and subtlety of rounded flavor. I’m convinced reviewers most reviewers have jumped on the bandwagon of reverse snobbery because it’s an easy target in hopes to sound intelligent when reviewing malts. Reminds me of many years ago when you were an idiot if you didn’t believe in free trade…now we know that wasn’t so accurate but it was so vogue, and so it is recently to bash Johnnie…especially the iconic Blue. Folks don’t buy into this reverse snobbery…maybe I can’t recommend you buy a bottle of JW Blue because it doesn’t have a good price/quality ratio but it will be one of the smoothest and most delicious scotches you’ve ever had.
2

WhiskyNotes on 16 March 2014 at 10:16

Mind that 83 is not a bad score, many single malts are scored lower here, it’s smooth and balanced but there are tons of whiskies that are much better and offer a more intense experience – single malts but blends as well – for less money. I have been defending JW Double Black but Blue is not my favourite.

For someone who has tried his first Scotch just recently (as you say in another comment) you seem to have quite a firm opinion already. Maybe it doesn’t hurt to try a couple more, around 1500 let’s say. Let’s talk again then.
3

Bret_Salyer on 7 August 2015 at 07:44

I was recommended Blue and, though not a Scotch man, was immediately impressed.
I’ll probably try all the other high end single malts and blends because of all the negative reviews, but experience tells me I’ll be drinking this again.

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