Johnnie Walker Blue Label
The original celebratory pour, Johnnie Walker Blue. Known colloquially as JWB, it’s the go-to bottle for a big promotion, for a big birthday, for a wedding. This bottle - despite its relatively low price for the quality and age inside - is a status symbol. When it launched in 1994, it immediately became the ultimate for finance offices and family gatherings alike.
It’s fine to be a status symbol, but how does it taste? There are plenty of status symbol bottles that taste horrible, or at best just don’t represent what they’re supposed to. This isn’t the case with JWB - it’s a creamy, intense, complex representation of nearly every region of Scotland in a single pour - and it is well-deserving of its acclaim.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label: Specs
Classification: Scotch, Blended
Origin: Varied single malts throughout Scotland
Mashbill: Undisclosed
Proof: 80 (40% ABV)
Age: Undisclosed, rumored to include whiskies up to 30-35 YO
Location: Undisclosed
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Price: $169 (MSRP)
Johnnie Walker Blue Label: Tasting Notes
Eye: Honey wheat.
Nose: Hay and barley, some wood smoke but no peat.
Palate: Honey, woodsmoke (maybe a little heather peat, no medicinal notes). Sweeter side but very balanced. Mouthfeel is lightly oily and filling.
Finish: Slight burn carries a long honey finish with a wisp of smoke, like barrel-aged honey.
Overall: There’s a reason this was and is considered a luxury bottle. The blend is smooth, leans into the highland category but carries enough smoke from a heathery campfire to coat the mouth and build new flavors. If not a perfect sip, it’s one of the top three blended scotches I’ve ever had (and in transparency, the other two are also Johnnie Walkers but for different reasons). Consider this a must-buy for special occasions.
Final Rating: 8.2
10 | Insurpassable | Nothing Else Comes Close (Blanton’s Straight from the Barrel)
9 | Incredible | Extraordinary (GTS, Elijah Craig Barrel Proof B518 and B520)
8 | Excellent | Exceptional (12+YO MGP Bourbon, Highland Park Single Barrels)
7 | Great | Well above average (Blanton’s Original, Old Weller Antique, Booker’s)
6 | Very Good | Better than average (Four Roses Small Batch Select, Knob Creek 14+ YO Picks)
5 | Good | Good, solid, ordinary (Elijah Craig Small Batch, Buffalo Trace, Old Grand-Dad Bottled-in-Bond)
4 | Sub-par | Many things I’d rather have (A.D. Laws Four Grain, Compass Box “Oak Cross”)
3 | Bad | Flawed (Iron Smoke Bourbon, Balcones)
2 | Poor | Forced myself to drink it (Buckshee Bourbon and Rye)
1 | Disgusting | Drain pour (Virginia Distilling Co. Cider Cask)
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