Tastes

What a wonderful dram and value to boot! An absolute gem of a mass produced blended scotch whisky. Nose: Very subdued with mild hints of orange blossom honey and caramel. Just the faintest whiff of smoke. Palate: Light, crisp, clean apples and pears. Typical Speyside sweetness is present without being cloying due to a mildly bitter chocolate astringency from the casks oak tannins. Earthy peat is present but in the shyest capacity. Finish: There seems to be no end in sight to this finish. A delicious assimilation of sweet tropical flavors combined with caramel and sherry lingers on the palate for minutes!

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with this edition of the Johnnie Walker core range. There’s plenty of peat smoke, which I enjoy, but nothing else. No complexity, just peat. I’m thinking that there is a small amount of young but heavily peated Caol Ila being used. No doubt there are small amounts of other single malts, like Talisker, but the vast majority is just cheap grain whisky aged in tired old casks. The shaving and recharging hasn’t done much to help the grain whiskies.