🥃Review #8: Johnnie Walker Black Label Blended Scotch Whiskey

Johnnie Walker Black Label sits in front of a tile backsplash

Johnnie Walker Black Label is one of the best selling Scotch Whisky varietals produced by Diageo. The brand was established in 1820 by grocer John Walker with his son Alexander Walker and his grandson Alex Walker II being responsible for establishing the legacy of this brand. Black label is a middle tier offering, a step up from Red Label. Johnnie Walker markets both of these as cocktail whisky though you will see some promos with Black Label on the rocks as shown on their manufacturer page.

🛒Sourced: Gifted - 32.99 at Total Wine

🧪Proof: 80, 40%

📚Background: Blended from whiskies aged a minimum of 12 years, the exact single malts in Johnnie Walker Black have changed over time. Whisky from Diageo's four corners of Scotland are represented in this bottle, including Clynelish in the Highlands, Cardhu on Speyside, malt from Glenknichie, and smoke flavors from Coal Ila.

👃Nose: Light & mild with element of of citrus, white pepper, winter spice, and some sweet malt/vanilla

😜Palate: Easy drinking, maybe a little thin on the palate, smokier than the nose would suggest but there is also lots of cereal malt sweetness and the citrus is still intact on the finish. In the middle, you may be able to find some orchard fruit flavors though in my experience the prevalence of this varies year to year. Very smooth.

🔍 Comparison: Compared to red label this is a massive upgrade. I would step down to Famous Grouse for cocktails, but Black Label is a good threshold for sipping scotch. Around this price point I also like the Dewar's 12yr or value maxing Dewar's white label for a 1.75L at the same cost, though you definitely lose some smoke flavor with those options. Within the Walker family, Green label is my overall pick for sipping neat or on the rocks for the greater flavor nuance, but it does jump you to the mid fifty dollar range. If you drink Islay single malts, skip this bottle for Johnnie Walker Double Black which benefits from a larger Islay proportion and greater degree of barrel char.

🏆 Overall: 5.75/10 - Average - I'm never mad to have a pour of black label. It's relatively consistent even if there are some swings over time. Diageo does a good job of building a somewhat nuanced and easy drinking bottle with an approachable level of Smoke character. Bummed this bottle off my dad as he prefers sweeter scotches. There's nothing super distinctive about this bottle, but it gets the job done well for a daily dram.

💵Would buy again? Sure, if the price is right

⚖️Rating Scale:

1 Undrinkable

2 Bad

3 Poor

4 Below Average

5 Average

6 Above Average

7 Very Good

8 Great

9 Excellent

10 Perfect

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