Johnnie Walker Black Label Triple Cask Edition

Slightly smoky, sharp, slight spicy aftertaste, tingling on the tongue, stronger than regular black.

Johnnie Walker is probably the most recognizable brand of Scotch on the planet. Diageo moves over 20 million cases of Johnnie Walker per year, making it the top selling Scotch in the world. I've personally never been inside a bar that didn't have either Red Label or Black Label or both on the shelf. This particular expression is a variant of the brand's Black Label and is available at Dufry travel retail locations (i.e. duty free shops at most international airports, cruise ship ports, and other related locations). Not sure why the decision was made to release this as a Black Label instead of creating let's say an "Orange" or "Yellow" label altogether. The reason why I'm left wondering is that people who have tried the Black Label and didn't like it because of the peated component will more than likely not bother with this bottle. Those who do enjoy the peated component of Black Label will be disappointed to find out that this expression has no peat at all. To add to the confusion, Triple Cask Edition carries no age statement while the core Black Label is aged 12 years. Not a big deal when this bottle is picked up by whisky novices, but for those who know such things it may matter. This blends malt whisky from Cardhu and grain whisky from Cameronbridge distilleries. There are three different casks used in finishing: ex-bourbon, pot still rum, and refill Scotch (really). On the nose there's a lot of honey and fruit sweetness. This follows with some malt flavor on the palate with more simple syrup sweetness, applesauce and baked pears before finishing with a touch of coconut and pineapple. For those who enjoy sweeter whiskies, this is a perfect bottle to pick up.

This recent early summer, my son traveled abroad and thinking of his old man purchased me this TRE version of Johnnie Walker. A full liter bottle (nice 250ml bonus). Cardhu malt and Cameronbridge grain whiskies are combined (amongst others I presume) and matured in American Bourbon casks, Scotch Whisky and finally Caribbean pot still rum casks. Black label was a staple of much of my early whisky days and I still appreciate a pour of JW. The rum is detectable immediately on the nose and comes across as slightly metallic (a similar quality experienced in Teeling Small Batch). Trace elements of vanilla, butterscotch, Granny Smith, plumbs and allspice. The grain notes envelopes the aforementioned aromas, similar to Testors model glue (Q: How would you know that Scott? A: I used to build model airplanes in my youth, not sniff it). Somewhat distracting but not destructive. A creamy, slightly viscous mouthfeel starts off simply sweet of caramel, dried pineapples and brown sugar and begins to turn to spice of black pepper and ginger snaps. The finish is slightly oaky and drying with hints of caramel and pineapples. The oak tannins remain for a fairly long length with a bitter, zesty quality. If you like Johnnie Walker, this is a straightforward, sweet and spicy pour. No peat or smoke. The rum cask provides a nice, slightly tropical twist to JW. It won’t blow your mind and you may take on another pour. If you are not a JW appreciator, the your money and time is better spent elsewhere. [84/100][$45][Tasted: 10/18/19]

Not bad buy way too smooth, i.e. not peaty, not smoky at all.

Sweet, fruity and spicy blend with notes of exotic fruit and brown sugar. Not too smoky. Very nice finish.