Tastes

I’ve been hitting the bourbon a bit more lately because 1) It’s finally fall in Texas (meaning the high is only 80) and 2) Seems like the price of Scotch keeps going up (new tariffs kicking in?...). I’ve always loved Old Forester. I’ve made short work of the classic, the 100, and a few of the single barrels. Been keeping my eye on this one for some time, but I kept my distance because spending more than $40 on bourbon seemed...unnecessary to me with all the quality offerings. For a high proof bourbon (it doesn’t say barrel proof, but it must be close) I don’t get that ethanol punch on the nose. Instead I get brown sugar, cherries, and vanilla dialled up to 11. The taste is that classic OF profile. Brown sugar, caramel, and a SUPER oily mouthfeel that results in a very long finish. My favorite part may be the big Kentucky hug at the end. This is definitely a slow sipper, and at $50, it’s a bargain (negating my earlier statement about paying for bourbon). Believe the hype. This one’s a keeper!

What will we find in the most widely recognised premium whisky? Stay tuned to find out. The nose is fruity and floral, reminiscent of a well aged Speyside. There’s clearly a high proportion of malt here, but the nose is the teaser trailer for the plot twist yet to come. On the palate, there’s malt, well aged grain whisky, and...peat smoke! First time I’ve detected it in a JW blend. It’s a perfect whip at the end. Sadly that’s all that endures on the medium length finish. The malt fades away and there’s some peat and heat. So the verdict? Is it a quality drop? You bet. If somebody bought it for me or offered me a pour, you bet. Would I buy a bottle? No. No way. $200 for a bottle of this seems like runaway marketing. That much coin could buy a bottle or two of much higher quality malts. Thus ends my tasting of the JW core range. There’s some nice pours in this range, but I come away thinking that even the good ones aren’t worth the price of admission. Not stacked up against comparably priced bottles. I’ll happily drink any of them (except the Red. Screw that noise) if offered, but a place in my collection? Not at this time.

The Distiller review hits this one right on the head. Initially it smells like the last few JW offerings I’ve tried. I actually felt like the JW Gold had more to offer on the nose and the front of the palate, but the FINISH on the 18 is amazing. Comes out of nowhere and suddenly it’s all nuts and dates and baking spices and oak and a LONG finish that gets warmer the longer it sits on my palate. I could get used to this!

There’s been some chatter lately about what to do when you’re at a bar and faced with the standard budget offerings you find in every bar everywhere. I guess tonight I’ll stake my claim and say that if Dewars White Label is one of the only things available, well, that’s ok with me. Yes it’s a young blended whisky, which means it’s mostly grain whisky, but unlike in JW Red, I don’t get any of that harsh metallic note on the nose or palate. Both of those are much “smoother” than their budget cousins to me. The taste isn’t much, but it certainly isn’t unpleasant. A little Topo Chico (this is Texas after all...) really makes this one shine. A fine bar pour if I ever drank one. Happy Friday y’all. Cheers!

Ok, cool! We continue to level up a bit dram by dram. This one takes the gold concept seriously. Gold name, gold label, golden colour in the glass (E150 anyone?). The nose is the star of this dram. Lots of golden honey and clearly a higher concentration of malt whisky than grain. Think west Highland moving towards Irish. The taste comes in full on the front. It’s reminiscent of Cardhu, but an older, richer version than Cardhu 12. I can sense the Clynelish too, as it gives some meaty backbone to the palate. The finish comes off a bit thin, but it’s coating and lasts a while. This was a treat. Still not sure if I’d buy a bottle, but again House Walker is strutting it’s stuff. Cheers!

Now we’re getting somewhere... This one is a blended malt, as opposed to JW Red & Black, which are just blended whiskies, so the grain component is absent from this malt, as is that offensive metallic note found on the noses of those two. Instead the nose is all maltiness with a smokey lemon note (maybe the Caol Ila?). On the palate, it still tastes like Johnnie, but fuller, rounder, more coating and complex. Quite a step up from JW Black. The proof lingers on the mid-palate (all 40% of it...), and the finish is considerably longer than its predecessors. Yeah! For those of you playing the home game, I’m reviewing my way through the Johnnie Walker core range as well as a few of its component malts. This one was solid, and was reminiscent of some non-sherried Highland or Speyside single malts. Is it worth $60 SRP? For me, no, because if I’m going to pay that much for a blend, it’s going to be something from Compass Box, but this malt is still a quality drop, and shows that House Walker doesn’t just produce bottom shelf swag. Cheers!

“The Smokey Johnnie” indeed. There’s smoke alright, but not “The Power of Islay” as their advertising suggests. More like a faint, ashy whimper. Apart from that, tastes just like JW Black. Was pretty good with some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. On that front, I can highly recommend Scotch & Cookies as a fine adult snack on a rainy Saturday afternoon. Cheers!

This whisky serves an important role in society. I’ve never been to a bar that didn’t have a bottle of this (or a wedding with an open bar for that matter...good thing too!). It’s everywhere. And in contrast to my earlier review of the JW Red, it’s good you can find this anywhere. The nose is a little reminiscent of the Red, and that young grain whisky metalic note is there, but underneath is more vanilla and buttercream. As I sip it and my palate becomes more adjusted, that metallic note drops off. The palate is where this one shines. Very soft and rounded with a coating, pleasant mouthfeel. Easy to drink. Probably the point they were going for. Finish is short but not unpleasant at all. I think of JW black as the “wedding dram”. It’s something easy to sip on over several hours during a reception and won’t lead you wrong. It’s easy enough to drink that you don’t have to ponder the nuances of your dram and you can focus on the happy couple. Cheers!

I came into this with low expectations. There are few favourable reviews of this whisky, and I don’t think the folks at JW expected folks to drink this neat. Churchill and Thatcher were know to drown this one in soda water. Onwards... The nose is bullshit. There are the faintest aromas of malt and honey buried under this weird, metallic note that smacks of barely legal grain whisky. The only other place I’ve encountered this is the budget Jameson, and it’s not nearly as offensive as this one. The taste isn’t altogether unpleasant. Malty, soft, with a little roundness in the mid palate, but a weird spike at the end despite the 40% proof. The finish is non-existent. This is not a good whisky. I might drink this if it were the only thing at a party and I could drown it with something, just like the legendary PM’s of old days. Otherwise, save your $$ for other things. For the same amount it costs for a bottle of this, you could buy a quality budget bourbon.

It’s been a while since I tried a Lowland single malt (not that there are that many to choose from, and I don’t have the $$$ to shell out for Rosebank). This is one of the single malts from the Diageo tasting kit my wife bought me, and goes with my previous reviews of Caol Ila, Cardhu, and Clynelish. After some time resting in the glass, the nose reveals honey, fresh cut grass, toasty malt notes, and I get a hint of pineapple. Lovely! Palate is all creamy malt and golden honey. It reminds me of a more rounded, slightly sweeter version of the Deanston 12 or and Irish blend. The finish is relatively short bit there just the slightest nip at the end to remind you of the lovely experience you just had. This malt was lovely (did I mention it was lovely...). I may go so far as to even track down a bottle. Sometimes you just need something that’s easy to sip on that rewards you for minimal effort. This is that malt. Cheers!