socialdistilledspirits
Johnnie Walker Black Label Triple Cask Edition
Blended — Scotland
Reviewed
October 25, 2019 (edited November 18, 2021)
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.
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Apparently, Dufry consumers are more likely to highball their whiskies - ergo, 1L bottles of syrupy sweetness, stick a recognisable - to half the planet and their children - label and sell it at budget price to budget-sensitive, impulse buyers on their way to budget holiday destinations.