John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend

Initial sweetness with orange and vanilla. A slight burn but finishes with raisins, cherry, white pepper,and a light smoke. A very nice variety. Keep Walking.

Smokey, full bodied, smooth, notes of vanilla and oak

Rating: 14/23 I've heard that this is a surprisingly very good Johnnie Walker release. I'm looking forward to trying it out. N: Big, underaged alcohol meatiness with white pepper, oil, a dusting of baking spices, a bit of orange juice, hints of malt, and the faintest sulphur and grain. There's a bit of a grain whisky bite to it as well. I'm very unimpressed by this nose. It smells just a few years old without being very interesting or decadent. After several minutes in my glass, the meatiness and sulphur mostly dissipate, but there's still a little bit of the meatiness. P: Ah, now this is much better! There is definitely a strong alcohol bite, but at 51% ABV, I can forgive that. There's none of the meaty or sulphur flavors. Well, maybe just the faintest bit. It's a decadent nectar sweetness at first, bringing in the richness of the malt and the cleanness of the grain, along with subtle vanilla and references to orange (not orange juice). There's a peppery burn that has just a bit of black pepper flavor, keeping it from being just straight burn. This isn't all that complex, but it's decadent and easy to sip. I mainly just wish it didn't burn so much. It isn't quite harsh though, which is a big win. F: The richness and restrained bitterness of the malt come out more as the sweetness fades. The peppery burn lingers, with just that mild touch of black pepper flavor. There's a thin slice of orange: fruit, pith, rind, and skin. It burns somewhat more than I'd like, but this is an enjoyable finish. - Conclusion - Monkey Shoulder (14/23) has more going on, but its lighter flavor really lets the clean alcohol show through more. The two are pretty competitive. Cadenhead's Deanston 19 (1994) (15/23) is richer and more interesting than this is, though it requires a precise amount of water to make that happen. My overall impression is that this is pretty close to the Monkey Shoulder and definitely not as good as the Deanston, so I'm going with a 14. It's not a bad rating, but I was expecting to give it at least a 15 based on what I'd read. I could even believe that Monkey Shoulder is better than this, though a tad of water does improve this (not to the level of the Deanston), so I'm inclined to say that they're both 14s. The burn on this is actually even comparable to that of the Deanston, which is fairly intense. They're both on the proofy side, but the deanston is a whopping 5.4% ABV higher at 56.4%. Side by side, it's apparent that this just isn't as good. It's either a 13 or a 14. As a last-minute sanity check, McIvor 17 (16/23) is decidedly better than this. It doesn't really seem more than two points better though, which adds support to this being a 14. It's on the low side though. I think that the Monkey Shoulder is a touch better because it doesn't burn In a final side-by-side, the alcohol in the Monkey Shoulder does stand out more, so I'm giving this a 14. Thanks to @soonershrink for the pour of this!

Lemon, honey, raisin, maybe red apple, vanilla. If there's peat here, it successfully evades my ability to detect it. There's a little graininess, but not offensive. The higher proof seems to bring a fullness of flavor, which I especially appreciate. I think the flavor of the Green is better, but I'm a sucker for higher proof, so they're about even in my book. This is a great bargain at the $45 I bought it for. I'd say it's probably good up to about $60, which is about what Green seems to go for around here.

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