Review #166: Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

It has been a while since I heard the legend of Johnnie Walker Blue Label but here is how I remember it.  Everybody's favorite soulless multinational Diageo was sitting on a bunch of 30 year barrels.  However, their ABV dropped below 40% so they couldn't sell them as whisky.  What did they do?  They combined them with some young whisky to bring up the ABV and then did a masterful job of branding and created Johnnie Walker Blue.  This is the first

Non-regional - NAS - Chill-Filtered - e150 - $180 - 40%

Color - Chestnut

Nose - Marshmallow, apricots, vanilla, figs, toffee, fresh tobacco 

Palate - Vanilla, chocolate, cream, caramel, frosting - the mouthfeel is much better than I would have thought for 40%.  

Finish - Medium short - Toffee, vanilla milkshake, honey

Overall -  5.5 - So this was nicer than I thought, having said that, it is outstandingly over priced.  The nose is actually very nice but the whisky doesn't hold up past that.  It isn't very memorable to me but it is better than other reviews in the past have said.  I probably would never buy a bottle even at 30% off  just because it is kind of boring.  If this was priced at ~$120 a bottle and priced accordingly at a steakhouse, I could see myself ordering this.  However, as this isn't the price, I will keep ordering my Frog 10 when I have those steak dinners.  I will say, that is a great gift scotch for those who don't know spirits.  If I got this 5 years ago before I drank whisky, I would have very much enjoyed it.  It is nice and approachable.  

---------------------------------------------------------------

Rating system is price influenced as it is based on my shopping decisions when buying a bottle.

10 Best in Show

9 Great Dram for Special Occasions

8 Worthy of consistent spot in my collection

7 Worth picking up a bottle if in the mood

6 I would buy a bottle if it went on sale
5.5 I really enjoyed but it will never be priced at where I would buy a bottle

5 I would drink it happily if offered

4 I would drink it if offered on the rocks

3 Maybe some soda will make this potable

2 I'll Pass

1 Toilet cleaner

Inclusive Ratings

Overall 6.1

Standard Deviation 0.91

Skew 0.66

Kurtosis -0.16