White Walker by Johnnie Walker

I had a pour of this, courtesy of a local wine shop’s free tasting event. Out of the JWs I’ve had (black, green, island green, blue), this is probably my worst. Served chilled, over ice, it was flavors of red berry water, a bit sweet and thin. Nose is similar....red fruits, especially berries. It’s not bad considering the price ($30), and it’s clearly driven by an exec sitting in a suit and tie, looking at partnership revenues from HBO and Diageo. But, with that said, I really do feel it’ll end up being a collector’s item. Yes...I bought a bottle, not with the intent of drinking it...it’s piss water with a hint of raspberry...but with the sole purpose of collecting as a die-hard GoT fan. In that sense, I’m sure Diageo’s goal is accomplished....a person like me ( $30 is not breaking the bank, a huge GoT fan, and likes whiskey) is in their core market. If this didn’t have the White Walker GoT branding, would I have bought a bottle, or even tried a pour? HELL NO. I’ll probably end up getting all, but honestly gotta say the only two I’m interested in drinking are Lag and Talisker. Others will just sit there and look pretty, but quite empty in taste.

Some vanilla as it warms in your mouth.

In spite of the higher ABV, this special edition isn’t as good as the Black Label. Buy one for the artwork if you’re a Game of Thrones fan, but don’t drink the whisky.

Lighter fluid

I've apparently got a gift for getting into the Next Big Thing just a few months before it goes big. "Dizzy Up The Girl" by the Goo Goo Dolls? Totally listening to it before everybody else in high school went crazy over it. Malbec? Discovered it during my year in South America; came back to the US and suddenly everybody was all over this exotic new red from Argentina. Game of Thrones? Read the books in the interim between seminary and starting at my first parish, mostly on the Blue Line traveling back and forth between my place in Logan Square and my now-wife's in Forest Park...right before everybody and their uncle started watching the show. At any rate, read the books and watched the show I have done...and now, I'm buying the whisky. This is the first bottle from the limited edition GoT series that Diageo is releasing this fall. I'll confess to some reservations about what to expect; this mostly seems like a chance to cash in on the last season of a popular tv series. I'm sure that was the primary motivator, but Diageo being what they are, I was hopeful that the whiskey would at least be worthwhile. This initial bottling is...worthwhile, if not life-changing. I followed the counsel to freeze the bottle, but poured myself a room temp nip, too, to compare. At room temperature, there's none of the Johnnie Walker touch of peat smoke that makes me enjoy the Black Label; it's a pretty one-note sweet vanilla affair with a tiny hint of barrel spice and citrus. Reminds me more of Dewar's than JW. Unexpectedly, there was more going on for me when the dram was cold - unctuous texture, poached pear on the nose and palate, a little spice, and creamy vanilla. As the dram warmed, the pear notes lessened and the vanilla increased. The mouthfeel, too, shifts from thick and coating to a lighter, but still round and full. I wish there were some more complexity to be found here, but this is solid whisky...and a fun way to kick off the series. Winter is coming.