Blended Scotch Whisky

Johnnie Walker Select Casks – Rye Cask Finish Review
Johnnie Walker Rye Cask Finish

Photo courtesy: Diageo

Johnnie Walker is one of my favorite blended Scotches.  The brand has a variety of different blends, but this release is the start of something different.  Yes, this is a new 10-year-old blend, which is nice enough.  What makes this Johnnie Walker unique amongst its brethren is the implementation of a finishing process.  Cask finishing is nothing new in the world of Scotch, but I believe this is the first time Johnnie Walker utilizes this maturation method.  For the unaware, cask finishing means after a whisky matures in casks for a number of years, it spends a small amount of time in a different type of cask.  It more or less alters the flavor of the original matured whisky.  The first in a new series by the company, this 10-year-old Johnnie Walker is finished in American rye whiskey casks.  The blend is built around Diageo’s Cardhu single malt, which is usually found in most JW blends.

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Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotch Whisky Review

Johnnie Walker Blue

Here we are… the top of the Johnnie Walker lineup.  I first heard of Johnnie Walker Blue Label in the early 2000s, before I was really into whisky.  Pre-Hurricane Katrina, a friend of mine was saving up for a bottle.   She called it her favorite “smoky Scotch.”  I’ve been intrigued ever since.  Of course, we know the toll that hurricane took on the city of New Orleans.  My friend never got to buy that bottle of JW Blue Label, although she still mentions it from time to time.  Fast forward many years – I have a sample bottle of the stuff in front of me.  As I dive into the whisky in my glass, I can’t help being reminded of the nearly empty fishbowl that sat on my friend’s desk with a sign that read “Johnnie Walker Blue Fund”.  Good times.

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Johnnie Walker Platinum Label Scotch Whisky Review

Johnnie Walker Platinum

Johnnie Walker Platinum Label is one of the brand’s newer permanent blends.  It’s inspired by the company’s tradition of creating exclusive blends for private gatherings.  Carrying an 18 year old age statement, this blended whisky replaces the former JW Gold Label 18 year in the lineup, and is positioned as a more premium offering than the current Gold Label Reserve.  After all, platinum is more valuable than gold.  A press release from Diageo, owner of the Johnnie Walker brand, states that the whiskies that constitute this blend are drawn from casks from between 20 and 25 distilleries.  Bottled at 40% abv, JW Platinum sits right under older brother Blue Label in terms of price with an SRP of $110.

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