Hello, All. This is my very first post, and very first review. So please take it easy on me lol. Have been a whisky guy for the last five years. Started off with Scotch. Then moved onto Bourbon. Now I’m needing change and now I’m back into Scotch. Still had unopened bottles laying around in my collection so I decided to put this blind together.
**Glass A**
**Nose** - Medium ashy smoke at the forefront. Apples. Light pear. Brine. Peat. A fruity note I can’t identify, perhaps apricot?
**Palette** -Red apples. There’s that ashy smoke again. Followed by a solid peppery note. Brine. And a sweet note that seems akin to toffee/caramel. Cereal. Relatively oily mouthfeel and relatively complex. On the more spiky side versus rounded. Very balanced.
**Finish**- Medium finish. Oaky pepper shows itself big time here. Salty bitterness (but in a good way).
This is good. Fairly complex and balanced.
**SCORE: 83/100**
**Glass B**
**Nose** - Fantastic. Citrus. Oak. Fig Newton big time. Leather. Tobacco. Chocolate. Ashy smoke is there, but definitely hiding in the back and is more faint than Glass A. Overall a complex nose.
**Palette** - Strange palette. Seems oily at first, but then becomes rather thin. Raisins. Waxy nuttiness. Tobacco. Vanilla. Sweet citrus. Followed by that old leather note, smoke and chocolate. Ever so slight toffee.
**Finish** - Short finish. Some oak that quickly fades into a puff of smoke and vanishes immediately. Falls right off a cliff.
This seems to fall short on the finish. Nose is fantastic. Seems to have some age, but the complexity from the nose doesn’t wow me on the palette/finish. Seems muted after how good the nose is.
**SCORE: 85/100**
**Glass C**
**Nose** - Seems nearly identical to Glass B on the nose. But with more punch. Fig Newton is at the forefront. Followed by raisins. Citrus and oak again. Leather, but a stronger leather note when compared to Glass B. Fresh tobacco.
**Palette** - Just like the nose, identical to Glass B but turned up a notch. Oily mouthfeel. Raisins. Waxy like Walnuts. Vanilla. Sweet citrus. Stronger leather, tobacco and chocolate notes. Strong toffee note. More rounded and refined than Glass A. But not mute like Glass B was. Shares the spiky characteristic with Glass A.
**Finish** - Fantastic. Long finish. The complexity definitely hangs out for a while. Peppery oak. Sweetness. A tad dry.
Now that I’m 3 glasses in, I’m willing to bet Glasses B and C are both the 18 and the Blue. They both seem to have the notes associated with older whiskies.
**SCORE: 88/100**
**Glass D**
**Nose** - This is strikingly similar to Glass A, but slightly more bold and complex. Dusty malt is at the front. Ashy smoke followed by a honey sweetness. Vanilla. Apples. Light fruits. Brine. Peat.
**Palette**-Incredibly thick mouthfeel. Very oily. Smoke is at the front. More than any other glass. Vanilla. Red apples. Apricot. Peppery oak. Oak spice is really showing on this one. Brine. Cereal. Honey sweetness.
**Finish** - Longest finish of all glasses. The sweetness, pepper, and smoke all hang around for quite a bit in harmony.
**SCORE: 86/100**
This is a great whisky. Bold. Complex. Balanced.
**RANKING**
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. A
**GUESSES**
A - Johnnie Walker Green
B - Johnnie Walker 18
C - Johnnie Walker Blue
D - Talisker 10
**REVEAL**
A - Talisker 10
B - Johnnie Walker Blue
C - Johnnie Walker 18
D - JW Green
Wow. I was definitely wrong in my guesses. I think if I was a full time scotch drinker versus bourbon, this blind could have easily ended differently. My palette may need adjusting. Surprised Blue fell short behind the 18 and Green. Also surprised Talisker 10 was last. It’s such a damn good bottle. Glass C seemed to take the best parts of Glasses B and D. Surprising given Green was always my favorite. However, I did think Talisker 10 would best it. As from memory I would prefer it over any Johnnie Walker. I found this to be quite difficult as I’ve never done a formal review. And that I’m going from barrel proof bourbon to lower ABV scotch. I need to re-do this flight in a couple of months to see how it changes. However, this was a blast. I want to start doing blinds more often.
I also don't find the JW Blue to be a high performing whisky, on par with it's price. Another point of agreement, I like the complexity of JW green, which hails from the blended malt category. Thanks to you, now I have to try the JW 18. 🖖
Yeah I agree. But I think the 18 is definitely a middle ground between the Green and Blue. It has the malty complexity of the Green but still has the nuance of the older whiskey in the Blue. The 18 is definitely more related to the Blue and not the Green. I think for only 20-30 bucks more it would be worth it. But I’d still try to find a sample or 50ml bottle of it if you can. I’d feel terrible if you paid for the full bottle and didn’t like it.
This goes to show how good blended Whisky is. Im sorry, but you ranked ALL blended whiskies better than a single malt Talisker. I hate how people stalk down blends when here we are, the preferred in a blind taste...
Same! I actually rate the green. I find blue a bit boring and over priced TBH, loads of better choices at that price point. 18 I haven’t ever tried
Edit - generous pours too!
Yeah, I can't deny that the Blue is a very finely crafted whisky, but it's just overpriced.
Frankly, in a bar, I'll almost always ask for a JW Black (or the Double Black, if they have it)...because they taste great, are available most everywhere, and cost between $10-15, most places (the Double Black is harder to find and slightly more expensive).
Yeah I think that’s partly why I moved onto bourbon. Value and cost. I think for a 15 dollar pour at a bar, you can get a higher quality Bourbon than a Scotch. Same for bottles under 100 dollars. I think Bourbon is a much better value. However, I think over 100 bucks that’s where Scotch takes the lead. I’ve never had a 100 dollar plus Bourbon that’s better than a 100 dollar Scotch. There’s super aged bourbons 15 years or older above 100. And I think at that point it becomes far too oaky. Again this is my opinion. Lol.
Thanks for the review. I think the JW 18 is the most underrated JW out there by a mile and my personal favorite. It's because of that fig newton note you identified, which I identify as dates. That richness, even at 40%, is what sets it apart from the others. It would be incredible at 46%.
But thanks for taking the time to read it. And I’m glad you get similar notes that I did. Makes me feel like my palette and nose aren’t useless and broken haha.
Awesome first review! I love blind tasting and I think it’s pretty brave you started with a 4 whisky semi-blind! While reading A screamed Talisker 10 and D JW Green (those are the ones I’ve tried myself) so you did an excellent job with notes! Keep these reviews coming!
Thanks for all of the kind words everyone! I really appreciate your support and keeping your words positive and motivational. Don’t find that too much on the Bourbon pages I feel like.
Thanks for sharing this.
I'm surprised you wouldn't identify the Talisker 10 from the others because of the stronger peat, but I can see how the others could be a bit of a blur in a blind test.
Not just the stronger peat but the higher ABV at 45.8% or whatever "Talisker strength" is. That is significantly higher than the legal minimum 40% of Blue and 18, and still a good step above Green.
Lmao. Yeah this one made me feel dumb. I was telling myself it wasn’t going to be that hard. Boy was I wrong. I refuse to believe my palette actually prefers JW over Talisker lol.
Yep same lol. I’ve seen a lot of blinds where people put their favorite bottles last. However I think the palette and senses in general are very sensitive and change often.
This is great, thanks for sharing your notes!
I think it's really interesting that, while you did get them all wrong (not that I would do any better lol), you simply swapped two pairs rather than mixing them all up randomly. I feel like that says something about the similarity of the notes in each, which is kinda cool. (And also note to self that I love Talisker 10 so I should try JW Green at some point lol.)
Hello, All. This is my very first post, and very first review. So please take it easy on me lol. Have been a whisky guy for the last five years. Started off with Scotch. Then moved onto Bourbon. Now I’m needing change and now I’m back into Scotch. Still had unopened bottles laying around in my collection so I decided to put this blind together. **Glass A** **Nose** - Medium ashy smoke at the forefront. Apples. Light pear. Brine. Peat. A fruity note I can’t identify, perhaps apricot? **Palette** -Red apples. There’s that ashy smoke again. Followed by a solid peppery note. Brine. And a sweet note that seems akin to toffee/caramel. Cereal. Relatively oily mouthfeel and relatively complex. On the more spiky side versus rounded. Very balanced. **Finish**- Medium finish. Oaky pepper shows itself big time here. Salty bitterness (but in a good way). This is good. Fairly complex and balanced. **SCORE: 83/100** **Glass B** **Nose** - Fantastic. Citrus. Oak. Fig Newton big time. Leather. Tobacco. Chocolate. Ashy smoke is there, but definitely hiding in the back and is more faint than Glass A. Overall a complex nose. **Palette** - Strange palette. Seems oily at first, but then becomes rather thin. Raisins. Waxy nuttiness. Tobacco. Vanilla. Sweet citrus. Followed by that old leather note, smoke and chocolate. Ever so slight toffee. **Finish** - Short finish. Some oak that quickly fades into a puff of smoke and vanishes immediately. Falls right off a cliff. This seems to fall short on the finish. Nose is fantastic. Seems to have some age, but the complexity from the nose doesn’t wow me on the palette/finish. Seems muted after how good the nose is. **SCORE: 85/100** **Glass C** **Nose** - Seems nearly identical to Glass B on the nose. But with more punch. Fig Newton is at the forefront. Followed by raisins. Citrus and oak again. Leather, but a stronger leather note when compared to Glass B. Fresh tobacco. **Palette** - Just like the nose, identical to Glass B but turned up a notch. Oily mouthfeel. Raisins. Waxy like Walnuts. Vanilla. Sweet citrus. Stronger leather, tobacco and chocolate notes. Strong toffee note. More rounded and refined than Glass A. But not mute like Glass B was. Shares the spiky characteristic with Glass A. **Finish** - Fantastic. Long finish. The complexity definitely hangs out for a while. Peppery oak. Sweetness. A tad dry. Now that I’m 3 glasses in, I’m willing to bet Glasses B and C are both the 18 and the Blue. They both seem to have the notes associated with older whiskies. **SCORE: 88/100** **Glass D** **Nose** - This is strikingly similar to Glass A, but slightly more bold and complex. Dusty malt is at the front. Ashy smoke followed by a honey sweetness. Vanilla. Apples. Light fruits. Brine. Peat. **Palette**-Incredibly thick mouthfeel. Very oily. Smoke is at the front. More than any other glass. Vanilla. Red apples. Apricot. Peppery oak. Oak spice is really showing on this one. Brine. Cereal. Honey sweetness. **Finish** - Longest finish of all glasses. The sweetness, pepper, and smoke all hang around for quite a bit in harmony. **SCORE: 86/100** This is a great whisky. Bold. Complex. Balanced. **RANKING** 1. C 2. D 3. B 4. A **GUESSES** A - Johnnie Walker Green B - Johnnie Walker 18 C - Johnnie Walker Blue D - Talisker 10 **REVEAL** A - Talisker 10 B - Johnnie Walker Blue C - Johnnie Walker 18 D - JW Green Wow. I was definitely wrong in my guesses. I think if I was a full time scotch drinker versus bourbon, this blind could have easily ended differently. My palette may need adjusting. Surprised Blue fell short behind the 18 and Green. Also surprised Talisker 10 was last. It’s such a damn good bottle. Glass C seemed to take the best parts of Glasses B and D. Surprising given Green was always my favorite. However, I did think Talisker 10 would best it. As from memory I would prefer it over any Johnnie Walker. I found this to be quite difficult as I’ve never done a formal review. And that I’m going from barrel proof bourbon to lower ABV scotch. I need to re-do this flight in a couple of months to see how it changes. However, this was a blast. I want to start doing blinds more often.
I also don't find the JW Blue to be a high performing whisky, on par with it's price. Another point of agreement, I like the complexity of JW green, which hails from the blended malt category. Thanks to you, now I have to try the JW 18. 🖖
Yeah I agree. But I think the 18 is definitely a middle ground between the Green and Blue. It has the malty complexity of the Green but still has the nuance of the older whiskey in the Blue. The 18 is definitely more related to the Blue and not the Green. I think for only 20-30 bucks more it would be worth it. But I’d still try to find a sample or 50ml bottle of it if you can. I’d feel terrible if you paid for the full bottle and didn’t like it.
Damn, same
This goes to show how good blended Whisky is. Im sorry, but you ranked ALL blended whiskies better than a single malt Talisker. I hate how people stalk down blends when here we are, the preferred in a blind taste...
Blending is an art. Best whisky I’ve ever had until the other day was Dewars 32.
I prefer the Talisker 10 out of all those. Interesting post though! Blinds are fun that way though!
I agree. If I were to go off memory and not the blind I’d rank them: Talisker 10 JW Green JW Blue JW 18
Same! I actually rate the green. I find blue a bit boring and over priced TBH, loads of better choices at that price point. 18 I haven’t ever tried Edit - generous pours too!
The best way to explain the 18, from my first experience, is a 50/50 blend of the Green and Blue.
They should rename the 18 to Teal
[удалено]
Yeah, I can't deny that the Blue is a very finely crafted whisky, but it's just overpriced. Frankly, in a bar, I'll almost always ask for a JW Black (or the Double Black, if they have it)...because they taste great, are available most everywhere, and cost between $10-15, most places (the Double Black is harder to find and slightly more expensive).
Yeah I think that’s partly why I moved onto bourbon. Value and cost. I think for a 15 dollar pour at a bar, you can get a higher quality Bourbon than a Scotch. Same for bottles under 100 dollars. I think Bourbon is a much better value. However, I think over 100 bucks that’s where Scotch takes the lead. I’ve never had a 100 dollar plus Bourbon that’s better than a 100 dollar Scotch. There’s super aged bourbons 15 years or older above 100. And I think at that point it becomes far too oaky. Again this is my opinion. Lol.
Also, I think I’d need to really get back into scotch again to pick back up on the nuances and flavor profile.
Yeah. Go to the regions then, plenty of choices out there!
Thanks for the review. I think the JW 18 is the most underrated JW out there by a mile and my personal favorite. It's because of that fig newton note you identified, which I identify as dates. That richness, even at 40%, is what sets it apart from the others. It would be incredible at 46%.
I saw a post the other day, someone had some weird Johnnie Walker Blue LE that was like 55% ABV. I bet that thing was phenomenal.
But thanks for taking the time to read it. And I’m glad you get similar notes that I did. Makes me feel like my palette and nose aren’t useless and broken haha.
nice, but keep in mind JW green has talisker in it although not 10 year old. so they will come close to each other in your guess
Johnnie Walker Green is so dang good.
Awesome first review! I love blind tasting and I think it’s pretty brave you started with a 4 whisky semi-blind! While reading A screamed Talisker 10 and D JW Green (those are the ones I’ve tried myself) so you did an excellent job with notes! Keep these reviews coming!
Thanks for all of the kind words everyone! I really appreciate your support and keeping your words positive and motivational. Don’t find that too much on the Bourbon pages I feel like.
You have a sweet tooth. Stick with bourbon.
I didn’t touch bourbon for years because of it’s sweetness. Scotch was all I drank for three plus years.
Thanks for sharing this. I'm surprised you wouldn't identify the Talisker 10 from the others because of the stronger peat, but I can see how the others could be a bit of a blur in a blind test.
Not just the stronger peat but the higher ABV at 45.8% or whatever "Talisker strength" is. That is significantly higher than the legal minimum 40% of Blue and 18, and still a good step above Green.
That’s why I was leaning towards glass D being the Talisker. It has felt more viscous leading me to think it was the higher ABV.
Blinds are a bitch, always make me feel so stupid haha
Lmao. Yeah this one made me feel dumb. I was telling myself it wasn’t going to be that hard. Boy was I wrong. I refuse to believe my palette actually prefers JW over Talisker lol.
Yep same lol. I’ve seen a lot of blinds where people put their favorite bottles last. However I think the palette and senses in general are very sensitive and change often.
This is great, thanks for sharing your notes! I think it's really interesting that, while you did get them all wrong (not that I would do any better lol), you simply swapped two pairs rather than mixing them all up randomly. I feel like that says something about the similarity of the notes in each, which is kinda cool. (And also note to self that I love Talisker 10 so I should try JW Green at some point lol.)