Johnnie Walker

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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My Adventures at Tales of the Cocktail 2015

Every big name in the spirits and cocktail industry comes down to the city I call home (okay, so I live 15 minutes away) to partake in a week-long event known as Tales of the Cocktail, a spirits & cocktail convention held yearly at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans.  There are tastings, seminars, private events, networking and a whole lot more.   Although all spirits are celebrated, Tales is a whiskey lover’s paradise.  A lot of whiskey brands, major players and craft distillers alike, are represented.  Besides tasting whiskey, the best part is meeting and talking to whiskey makers and/or brand ambassadors.  There were definitely some whiskey-geek moments during my time there.

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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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