Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year

N: Floral, herbal, medicinal, maybe slightly vegetal. Faintly, but very noticeably smoky. It's like if you lit a flower and herb garden on fire, doused it with sea water, and then took a good whiff while everything was still wet. Little bit of mint in the nose too. On the sea water, there's a distinct maritime scent in it that's not quite sea spray. Really, it's reminiscent of taking a walk on a dock and getting that combination of salty, fishy, boaty scents. And getting just the right amount of it too. There's also fruit: peach, pear, maybe some white grape. Lemon even? There is no red fruit here, and that absence seems to give this a fresh and cold feeling. I really like it. P: Herbal and floral, with white tea, honey, dash of mint. All of it has that maritime character, which the smoke now blends into, and gives everything this wonderful salty, smoky character. Nutty with some chocolate that hits mid-palate. Spicy finish begins at the sides of the tongue - mostly cinnamon, but can move up to hot cinnamon, and occasionally even chili pepper (which plays well with the herbal, vegetal nature of this). Slightly tannic finish with some puckering in the cheeks. Later, you get a little lingering green apple. Very interesting. This is fantastic. I love that it just picks an angle and hammers it home. A less bold whisk(e)y might have tried to build in more traditional caramel and vanilla flavors, seeking to appeal to more people. This just says "I am a burned herb garden, doused with sea water - come and get it." That works for me, I guess. I think this is the best of the JW line. It's also priced really well for what it offers - that helps a lot. I expect this will be one I just keep on hand at all times.

Rich and skillfully balanced, but in the end it's just another heather honey forward blend. Overhyped, -priced and -thought.