Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve

Water melon nose. Clean nose. Simple palette. Quick finish.

It smells a fresher, fruitier, and a bit maltier than Black Label. It actually smells a bit appealing. The palate is fairly sweet with some honey and oily notes that are reminiscent of Sauternes, along with some light grassy and strong vanilla notes. It's too light, but it gets away a bit from the regular Johnnie Walker bitterness. There's a little bit of toffee that provides a nice base to ground the flavor. There's just a hint of orange and ginger hiding in the background. There's some usual scotch saltiness as well as smoke and a little more peat. It's moderately interesting and palatable enough, but it's far from great. It's kind of like a more complex but not terrifically executed Glenmorangie The Original, perhaps like it was blended with Glenlivet 12. The flavor is lighter than it ought to be. Still, it's a big improvement on the Black Label (though it pales in comparison to Springbank 10). The nose is grassy and a bit smoky with a dash of grainy sweetness. The palate is light and grassy in a way that reminds me a bit of Herradura. Its sweetness is nice and has a bit of a golden raisin nectar element to it, but it doesn't develop a great deal of complexity or a very mature flavor. The sweetness is nice with some good vanilla and fruity notes of pear and apricot included just a dash, but the total experience is too light and a bit bland. Still, it isn't actually a bad drink. I'd sip this one and be happy enough.

Spicy, Smokey, slightly sweet. They say the aroma on the nose is supposed to be honey and lemon which I want to say I get. Still learning. I can for sure smell the smoke. I liked the 18 year better. This was given to me for free as a 200ml bottle. The more I sip on this the more of a Smokey taste I’m getting and I actually like it.

Very fruity, with carmel, and some smoke. Very nice.

Good but still like black label better