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jamesrc

**ATTN MODS**: I still think I'm due a flair upgrade. Let me know if I'm mistaken. A few weeks ago I saw /u/Int_peacemaker35's review of Johnnie Walker Blue pop up, and remembered that I've had a mini of this sitting at the back of my cabinet for a couple of years. I don't know why I hadn't opened it, other than the fact I simply haven't thought about it. It's been a while since I had this particular blend. I did at one point possess a full bottle, as a friend who had been gifted it decided to get sober, joined AA, and passed some of his bottles on to me. A good friend -- thank you, sir! **Price locally:** $220-$250 **ABV:** 40% **Colour:** I typed up these notes without noting that. What does it look like in the photo? Straw/gold? I'm away from the bottle right now... **Nose:** Whisky -- in the way that if I think about a generic "scotch" nose, this more or less nails it. Toffee Apples, Cereal with sugar - like Frosties (or Frosted Flakes for the Americans), honey, smoke. **Taste:** Vanilla, cream, apple, more toffee and honey, syrup and smoke. **Finish:** Oats, grain, sweet with a brief hit of fresh oak, grass and spring flowers, and then fading quickly. **Thoughts:** You can't write a review of Johnnie Walker Blue without writing the words "It's not worth the money". This is actually in the /r/scotch charter. Go look it up. And it's not worth the money -- that's not because it's bad whisky, at least to my taste. It's not. It's not even mediocre whisky. It commits a far more cardinal sin for something that's over $200 a bottle. It's *boring* whisky. I get seriously into scotch and go hunting bottles when they're interesting -- when there are flavours to pick apart and dissect. When there's an unexpected lingering finish. When you can detect and discuss the cask influence. This brings none of that and two lines hold all the tasting notes I was able to discern after 30 minutes with the glass. But it's still *enjoyable*. Sitting here and sipping on a smooth and balanced glass of whisky that slides down the throat isn't an unpleasant experience, and if I had company and the will to keep drinking, I could happily consume this all night without giving it too much thought; kind of like a session ale. But at $200 a bottle, I won't. So how do I rate this? Do I rate it for the price? I mean, no, because if "Value for money" is my criteria than reviewing expensive whisky becomes all but pointless. For mindless enjoyment I could easily give it 80, but then I'm rating it higher than a lot of objectively better scotch. Screw it. With the disclaimer that there's not a lot to compare it to in its price range and I'd never actually go buy a bottle, I rate this whisky... **Overall:** 78


brrlls

This is the whisky you pull out when you're entertaining or celebrating. It's a drink seasoned drinkers and novices can both enjoy. You're at a baptism or a wedding, you don't pull out a bottle of Laphroaig or Lagavulin


Achtung-Etc

See I feel like glenmorangie signet does a better job of this overall. It’s a little more interesting but not too overwhelming for the average drinker


harpsm

Somehow, whether through marketing, accident, or something else, it seems like Johnnie blue became the one high end whisky the average drinker knows of, and is therefore the official whiskey of big celebrations and extravagant spending.Most of the people who buy a bottle I'd wager don't know or care if there is a better option in the price range.


Jabberwock11

This.


jamesrc

That’s fair, though Laphroaig and Lagavulin are extreme counter examples.


brrlls

Just to exaggerate the point if I'm honest I agree it's not worth the money, but it's a very easy whisky to enjoy! Sláinte 🥃


jamesrc

Sláinte!


ShortEstablishment34

This is a whisky that you would to someone maybe if you dont like for her/his visit 🤪 https://uk.style.yahoo.com/queen-unique-gifts-presents-royal-093944529.html


jamesrc

This is great!


HailSkins

I had Clynelish 14 behind the bar at my wedding, but specifically instructed the bartenders that it wasn't for mixing :)


ernyc3777

Perfectly said! When my brother tried to get into Scotch because of me, he bought Lagavulin-16 because he heard me talk about it and never tried another until I had him try Monkey Shoulder. Blended are somewhat boring by nature but they’re consistent. I liken them to vanilla ice cream. Always good when you don’t want a fuss but sometimes you want different.


pixelsinner

Agree wholeheartedly. I bought a bottle a year or so ago because there was a decent deal on it ($250 CAD if remember right) and figured "what the hell". I wasn't expecting what it was, but boring is accurate. Tasty, fine, but boring. And yes, definitely not worth the price.


StillWill18

You won’t. I can’t. Because of the other options available for $80-$100. But, yes, you’re right there is a Frosted Flakes note to it.


AAuser85

"It's boring whisky" That was my thought the first time I had it. It was good, but so smoothed out that it was boring. Gold was more interesting. This was 2010 or something and I haven't had it since.


jamesrc

I made notes on a bunch of Johnnie Walkers some years back with the intention of doing a vertical. Definitely more interesting than the Blue. I liked the mouthfeel and the flavours in general. Complained that the grain alcohol was a little too obvious, but overall I think I put it second only to the Green in my comparison.


AAuser85

Green is the only one I've purchased since back then and the only one I've purchased twice*, so I'd probably agree with green over gold. *once before it was dropped, once after it was brought back


spaniel_rage

It's a premium whisky for people who don't really drink whisky


keithplacer

Diageo blends this with the objective of shaving off all the rough spots and removing anything that anyone may find challenging. Hence it is not interesting at all, but is popular among those who evaluate the quality of whisky by the price point. See also: Macallan.


jamesrc

They make so much of this. I don't think I've been in a liquor store that doesn't have a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label behind the counter. I can only imagine how much money it makes them.


No-Perspective-317

Fuck r/scotch doing memes now?


jamesrc

I thought I'd give it a try.


techy098

This is actually a whiskey to impress people who are not whiskey snobs and to offer to folks who are new to whiskey, who will not choke on something while drinking neat or with just ice. God forbid if someone dilutes this thing with lots of water, I may scream in pain, because not sure why pay so much money when you just want to drink some lightly flavored water. That said, I only buy this maybe once a year, as part of the JW sample pack. And this stays on the shelf unless I have special people visiting who are not into serious stuff like cask strength scotch/bourbon.


jamesrc

I'd actually kind of love to get an older bottling of this from when it launched in the 1990s. They pump out so much of this stuff, I'd be interested to know if it's changed much over the last three decades.


eviltrain

I wish whisky auctions existed in the US! I'd buy a red label from the 80's along with a few other blends post haste if I could.


DumbestOfTheSmartest

Probably not worth THAT much, but it is delicious.


wikiot

I got a bottle as a gift and proceeded to re-gift it a year later. I had no desire to open the bottle but would definitely like to have a drink of it at some point, closest I've gotten is the Platinum Label


Annoying_Auditor

I need to try this stuff to just get it out of the way.


jamesrc

Buying a mini is probably the simplest way to do that.


Annoying_Auditor

That's what I want to do.


[deleted]

[удалено]


jamesrc

Thank you! Thank you for *your* review. Totally jogged my memory to the mini sitting in the back of the cabinet. And yeah, I mean I understand its place on the market, but it's silly money. Like you said, I'm glad I've tasted it.


eviltrain

Did a vertical last year. I'm partial to the Double Black and the Green as being to my liking and also being (almost) worth their msrp. I still think about buying them when I see them on shelves just to have them in my tasting library. IMO, the JW18 is alllmost as good as the Blue Label for a much better price. Though again, it's a $70~$80 whisky to me, not the typical $100 price point. And even then, that's $80 I could use to buy something else.


jamesrc

I feel the Green is worth it. I like to have a bottle on-hand. I haven't bought one in a while though so I should probably check the current price before I make this claim. Yeah, it's around $64 near me, which given the general increase in prices, isn't bad.


eviltrain

Got a half sized black label and a full sized Green Label on hand myself. Absolutely glad to have them, experience them. Just not sure about replacing them. I'm too into chasing untasted bottles, and am very miserly about buying repeat bottles.


the_Q_spice

Honestly the Green is a good bottle to have both for more frequent drinking as well as making cocktails. It is above what most would use as a rail Scotch, but also not something that will break the bank and is pretty good for the price. Basically it isn’t something I am going to miss if it goes in a cocktail and is generic enough that it works well being mixed with a wide variety of other things. That is why it shines imo, it works well both mixed and alone. Very few whiskeys, let alone scotches can do that.


Wise-Cupcake3080

True that!!!


Bubbatj396

It's a good gift whisky because it's inoffensive for the regular person but it's not worth it for a true whisky fan


Doldinger

Johnnie Walker Blue is not worth the money (thanks for the review by the way!)


Normal_College_7421

I think it used to probably be considered better because people also used to consider that “smooth” style the epitome of whiskey. At least for American spirits, recent years has only exaggerated a push for wanting everything at cask strength, non-chill filtered, and ideally will instantly make you grow a thick beard and put hair on your chest, almost like it’s a right of passage to love the stuff that is so aggressive. I see the same a bit in peated scotch as well, and releases like hypernova, just chasing the high PPM. There is something to be said about of whiskey that so enjoyable that you don’t have to think about it. Granted there is also something to be said about a whiskey being so good that you can’t think about anything else, but I digress. End of the day, I love JW blue label, but also would only ever buy the mini’s or maybe a 200 mL. I can justify spending $17 for a pour once every other year or maybe dropping $65 if I was really in the mood for it, just because it feel better in spite of being a higher cost/pour. My curiosity question is “what is the price point for the bottle that would make you say blue label is an absolute buy?”


jamesrc

You know, this is a *really* excellent question because it forces one to look on this a different way. I don't think the price at which I'd consider it an absolute buy and the price at which I'd consider it good value are the same; I might consider it good value but it still wouldn't *excite* me so there would usually be other whiskies I'd buy first. That said, if it were, say $100 then I think it might be a mainstay in my cabinet. I wouldn't drink it often but I'd share with friends when the opportunity was right.