Stogie Spirits: Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Tuesday, August 7th, 2007Johnnie Walker Blue Label is an elusive spirit. It usually sits on the very top shelf of fancy bars collecting dust.
At around $200 per 750 ml. bottle, or upwards of $50 per double at your local drinking establishment, it’s no surprise that this blended scotch is usually reserved only for very special occasions.
Meanwhile, Johnnie Walker Red Label – a far younger and cheaper blend, also made in the Walker factory in Kilmarnock, Scotland – is the second most popular whiskey in the world (second only to Jameson). And Johnnie Walker Red was reportedly famous cigar lover Winston Churchill’s scotch of choice.
So if the Red Label is good enough for Sir Winston, is the super luxury Blue Label worth it? I recently had some to find out.
Every bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label has a unique serial number. Inside is a blend of over a dozen rare whiskeys, some over 25 years old.
The Blue Label is a deep golden color with a smell that is highly aromatic, but not harsh despite being 80 proof. I’m hardly an expert when it comes to scotch tasting (bourbon is more my thing), but I immediately noticed a smoky oak flavor with a spicy finish. Not surprisingly, the Blue Label is smooth and complex – but compared to a single malt, that smoothness seems to come at the expense of the distinctive character that defines single malts.
Ultimately, it’s a fantastic scotch. But whether it’s worth the price still isn’t clear. While some praise this mythic blend as the ultimate blended scotch, others decry it only “for ignorant stockbrokers” and “worth $60 not $200.” Personally, I feel it is somewhere in between the two – an excellent whiskey, but almost inevitably not worth the extraordinary price tag.
If you are luck enough to try Johnnie Walker Blue Label, be sure to enjoy it with a fine cigar that won’t overwhelm its smooth complexity. I would recommend an Ashton Classic or a Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3.
I’ll take a 2 good single malts any day over one JW Blue
guys, i am pretty sure it is the JW black label that was favoured by sir winston churchill…..good article though for a great scotch…cheers
Churchhill did drink Black not Red
I will have one belt of JW Blue a week over 2 good single malts any day!
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winston churchills drink was black label
any one know where I could find a bottle of J/W Blue for less than 450 for the 1.75 bottle
Try ebay…saw some pretty good deals on there
http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?from=R40&_trksid=m37&satitle=1.75+johnnie+walker&category0=
there is one there for 399.99 + free shipping
aloha
Cool thanx I herd duty free is cheap as well coming in from another country to the U.S
Yes, with the economy the way it is, it can be cheaper. The NEX naval exchange in hawaii here had a 1/5th for 180.00 which I purchased for my father Thanksgiving 2006 and I found same bottle on ebay for $149.00 + free shipping but that was only for the continental USA. Big difference in savings….aloha….Oz. [-o-]