Wednesday, December 07, 2011

Johnny Walker Green Label

The word "blended" to the ears of scotch snobs usually elicits a negative reaction.  Now I'm new to the world of scotch and admittedly do not have the most discerning palate but what I have discovered is that I much prefer single malts, which means single vat and not a blend.  I currently own two bottles of fine 12-year-old single-malts, a Glenfiddich and a Glenlivet, both of which are lovely (the English in me coming out).  Both of these come from the same region but have very different and distinctive tastes.  So in my quest to see what else was out there and possibly go up a step in quality, I did some research reading scotch reviews on blogs and narrowed it down to two choices, the 15-year-old Glenfiddich Solara and the 15-year-old Johnny Walker Green Label.  But when I discovered that the Johnny Walker was a blend, I had decided to go with the Glenfiddich.
While I was waiting for last weekend to get here and visit the New Hampshire State Liquor Store where booze is cheaper, I received a reply to an email I had sent to the blog writer I liked the most.  I had mentioned what I had experienced and discovered thus far and where I was leaning in my next purchase, and he talked me into the Johnny Walker.
Go for the Johnny Walker Green.  The Glenfiddich Solara is excellent, but I think the Green has the edge and is excellent for someone like you who is just getting into scotch.  It will not disappoint! Matter of fact, I had an old college chum over last weekend and got out a new bottle of Green Label and while it has been maybe a year since my last glass of it, I shook my head at how damn good it is!  Tremendous stuff and I think you will like it because it is somewhat similar to Glenfiddich 12.

 Thanks, Jason, for your help...you were right.  Although I have YET to try the Solara, I am very happy with the Johnny Walker Green and drank about a third of the bottle last weekend after the Bruins game, listening to tunes in AA's dungeon.  (Thanks again, bud,  for the great ticket, grub, tunes and friendship)  I would highly recommend Jason's blog for scotch reviews, including his review of Johnny Walker Green Label.  Cheers to you, Jason!
The Green Label is very complex, owing to the fact that it's a blend of four 15-year-old single-malts from four different distillers from the four corners of Scotland.  From the Johnny Walker website:

Four signature malts provide the key taste influences for this 15-year-old whisky. Talisker™ introduces power and depth of character, Caol Ila™ contributes mystery and intensity and, at its heart, Cragganmore™ provides a sweet maltiness, while Linkwood™ adds a final touch of finesse.

So if you've had the Black Label, which I have, and didn't like it, don't use that as a reason not to try this.  This has opened my mind a bit regarding single malts versus blends, though I still plan to mostly stick to single malts for now; but who knows where my preferences will go the more I try different ones.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I don't know a thing about scotch but now I'm tempted to buy a bottle of this at BevMo after work tomorrow night.

Zebster said...

Definitely read Jason's blog about the Green Label. He gives some good tips on how to best appreciate scotch and what to look for. Also, if you do pick some up, I'd be curious what you paid. I paid 50 in NH, which I think saved me 10.

Egbane said...

Zeb, did you find this near the turpentine because that is clearly where it truly belongs. My best way to appreciate Scotch is to dump it down the sink and pour me a glass of Knob Creek!! HA!!

tpubgu said...

I believe at hunting camp I drank so much bourbon that I couldn't stomach another glass for about another 51 weeks -- or until next year's camp.

Now, scotch, I can never get tired of. I had some Green Label, I believe, at hunting camp one year when we had alternative drink night. It is a nice drink, much better than their Red and Black labels and wish I could have had more of it. I used to drink JW Black label in Okinawa but that was probably back in 81/82.

I'm no scotch snob. Right now, I'm drinking Clan McGregor and it goes for $18.95 a half gallon. It's cheap, but it tastes like scotch.