When I first started exploring whisky, I’d ask others for suggestions and would often receive the guidance to try Johnnie Walker Blue as it was one of their favorites. I decided to not just jump to the top and slowly made my way through their lineup by finding them at a bar. Finding all the colors turned into a whisky scavenger hunt but I eventually found every color except Blue. Tracking down a pour of Blue, at a reasonable price, seemed to be my white whale as every restaurant or bar would either have it priced far too high or a reasonable price that would unfortunately result with them kindly opening the flap to the box revealing an empty bottle inside as others had taken advantage of their price well before me. Not until dining out one night for Thai was my quest finally completed as they pulled down that Blue box, opened the flap and revealed that a half bottle remained with a very reasonable price. As the glass made its way to our table, I rejoiced in the completion of that 5 color Johnnie puzzle in my liver and savored every velvety sip as I found it to be my favorite of the lineup at the time. It’s been over 14 years and countless bottles since that drink and now time to revisit this one. The nose is fairly rich starting with a mix of old oak, lychee fruit and pickled ginger then milk chocolate covered raisins and macadamia nuts that transition to a light smoke background with fruits of plums, poached pears and charred lemon before spices finish with cloves, nutmeg, leather and freshly lacquered oak with light ethanol burn. The taste is a thin to medium mouthfeel starting with a mix of slightly ashy oak, charred lemon and pickled ginger then milk chocolate covered raisins and pistachio that transitions a light spicy and smoky background with fresh baked banana bread, poached pears and lychee before spices finish with cloves, nutmeg, leather and polished old oak with light ethanol burn. The finish is medium length with gooseberry, lychee fruit, milk chocolate raisins, candied nuts, pickled ginger, light peat smoke, leather and light oak. This is an expertly balanced and gentle dram that manages to bring in old oak, citrus and light spices, but that 40% seems to really lighten the flavors and thin the mouthfeel. This would likely be incredible with just a few more percentage points and I can see why I enjoyed it so much when I first started exploring whisky as the only real flaw is those thin light flavors. With a $230 price tag around me, I don’t see myself picking up a bottle of this as my tastes have gravitated towards higher proof flavor bombs that cost less than Blue, but I likely would have found the higher proof offerings overpowering back when starting this hobby.