Johnnie 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.

-Patrick S