JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL

[Deactivated Member]

This i a blend that I've never tried, but has nevertheless always perplexed me.

What can possibly be in this dram to justify the very steep price tag?

Can anyone enlighten me please?

[dsoneil]

Funny you should ask. I just wrote an article about this scotch and why someone would buy it. You can read it here:

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Other than that, it is a decent tasting blend.

[Lord_Pfaffin]

This i a blend that I've never tried, but has nevertheless always perplexed me.

What can possibly be in this dram to justify the very steep price tag?

Can anyone enlighten me please?

Absolutely nothing! This is one of the most overrated whiskys ever bottled, there are hundreds of better tasting whiskys for less than one third the price.

[bond]

Run a search an you'll come across (a few) threads on the subject. Most people on this forum agree with Lord Pfaffin's view. (yours truly included)

dsoneil:

Very well written article. have forwarded it to a few whisky lovers I know.
Most of us on this forum tend to be critical of marketing success of over-rated whiskies. You have brought out this dimension without punishing the concept.

Cheers

[Frodo]

Hi Dsoneil:

Nice article. I have two impressions following your article...

1) I like your illustration that JW Blue is for conspicuous consumption, and is recognized by all as a super-premium whisky. I agree that people do equate this product with class, and the perception that this is at the top of the heap. One is buying this perception as much as the whisky in the bottle.

2) I would also say that this is a very soft whisky, with no rough edges, and that this would be more approachable to non-SMSW drinkers.

What can possibly be in this dram to justify the very steep price tag?

See #1.

[Deactivated Member]

Thanks for all your comments. Also, the interesting article.

Next time that I'm through an airport, I might buy a 20cl bottle to taste it. But, based on your views, it won't be a regular in my drinks cabinet.

Take care.

[Lawrence]

That's a great idea and if you come across a bottle of Ballantines 17 buy that too, when tasted blind most people don't realize that it's a blend. I fooled 45 people two months ago with the 17, it's very good.

[Lord_Pfaffin]

Thanks for all your comments. Also, the interesting article.

Next time that I'm through an airport, I might buy a 20cl bottle to taste it. But, based on your views, it won't be a regular in my drinks cabinet.

Take care.

I spent $6 at the Tasting Tower for close to half an ounce, followed by the same measure of Ardbeg 10 @ $1.25.
Do yourself a favour and buy 3 miniatures of good SMs, they will cost less and you will enjoy them more.

[Sherried Malt]

What can possibly be in this dram to justify the very steep price tag?

I think the short answer is, "Not much." But that's from the perspective of people who frequent these forums and are big single malt fans. We're NOT the target audience for this product. JW has done a stellar job in marketing this product and positioning it as the "end-all and be-all" to non- or casual scotch drinkers. It's not geared to sms fanatics... Not that there's anything wrong with that...

dsoneil's article came to the exact right conclusion: "I enjoyed it, my friends enjoyed it, even if they didn’t like the taste, but they appreciated that I was trying to provide them with the best I could offer. This has value that many scotches just don't have." Well said!!

The only other scotch that might enjoy this recognition is the 30 yo Macallan. I see many similarities between the two, so it's not JW playing this game...

[Frodo]

That's a great idea and if you come across a bottle of Ballantines 17 buy that too, when tasted blind most people don't realize that it's a blend. I fooled 45 people two months ago with the 17, it's very good.

I will look out for this one Lawrence!

[patrick dicaprio]

there have been a few threads about this; in my view it is just a marketing gimmick to dilettantes who can say they drink it. i say this from experience with a person i work with who waxed poetic about how good it was; but never drank a single malt.

Pat

[BruceCrichton]

What can possibly be in this dram to justify the very steep price tag?

Can anyone enlighten me please?

The distillery manager at Cardhu told me it is a blend of very old and quite young whisky and, hence, no age statement.

I enjoyed my taste of it but I preferred the JW Gold, which was like golden syrup to taste. Lovely.

[MGillespie]

Good article, Darcy...I've added a link to your web site from the links page on WhiskyCast.com.

Mark

[dsoneil]

Thanks, I'm glad everyone liked the article. It kind of puts things into perspective for some people. For me, I probably wouldn't buy another bottle of Blue Label, even though I do like it. There is just so much more to explore in the whisky world.

[Les Paul]

disclaimer: young scotch drinker (24)...scotch newbie.


i think johnnie walker blue is fantastic....i just sit down and enjoy some with my grandfather and i try not to think about comparing non stop to SM's (but i do still sometimes).....i think it is a fantastic drink....i have all 5 labels and i thoroughly enjoy the black label on up...

but i definitely, in general, enjoy SMSW's substantially more....

[kallaskander]

Hi there,

Diageo has brought out some the Classic Malts, Caol Islay and Blue Label as 0.2 ltr bottles. The Blue Label still is 49 € here.

Greetings
kallaskander

[Lycus]

It really isn't worth the money. Buy Macallan or even J.W. Green Label--hell, J.W. Black is a much better value.

Perhaps I had a bad bottle (not that it was bad, it just wasn't worth $46 for 200ml).

[Bloody Marvellous]

I organized my first whisky tasting a couple of months ago.

I based most of my selection on the more popular brands with a couple of lesser knowns.

One of the scotches offered was the Blue Label. That one bottle attracted more people than all the other ones combined. I appreciate the Blue Label for generating enough interest to be able to hold my own tasting.

In the end though, most people didn't like the Blue Label all that much. Oddly enough the most appreciated whiskey was a bourbon and the Glenfiddich 30, which was the oldest whisky on offer.

The tasting consisted of the following:

Jameson
Chivas Regal 12
Jack Daniel's Old No. 7
Dimple 15
Blanton's Straight from the Cask (bourbon) <= taster's choice
Johnnie Walker Blue Label
The Balvenie 12 Signature
Dalwhinnie 15
Glenfiddich 30 <= 2nd favourite
Highland Park 12
Talisker 10
Laphroaig 15
Oban 14
Glenkinchie 12
Cragganmore 12
Lagavulin 16 <= 3rd favorite

[scotchdrinker]

I have found that a lot of people like the Blue Label but I guess they don't have a lot of knowledge. I have had Blue Label on more than one occasion and I have enjoyed, but for the money and now that I know a lot more about Whisky I would spend my money on other things first. I would prefer a SMS hands down any day. But if people are impartial to Johnnie Walker I would suggest they have the Green it is a lot less money and it is an amazing dram, my favorite blended malt.

That sounds like a great array of Whiskies to have at that tasting, wish I was there. There are a lot there I haven't tried.

[RogerB]

I have found that a lot of people like the Blue Label but I guess they don't have a lot of knowledge. I have had Blue Label on more than one occasion and I have enjoyed, but for the money and now that I know a lot more about Whisky I would spend my money on other things first. I would prefer a SMS hands down any day. But if people are impartial to Johnnie Walker I would suggest they have the Green it is a lot less money and it is an amazing dram, my favorite blended malt.

That sounds like a great array of Whiskies to have at that tasting, wish I was there. There are a lot there I haven't tried.

Johnny Walker Blue is a good whisky, but like you say, for the money there are far better values. Johnny Walker Green is fantastic and a quarter of the price, and there are any number of SMS that I would choose first in a heartbeat.

[Atomicboy]

I bought one of these when I was just getting into scotch. I thought this would be something I would crack for a special occasion. After cracking it, I can confidently say it was the worst scotch I have ever had (forget the ginormous markup). Red is literally better than this grainy crap. What a huge mistake. Luckily, the LCBO took this back, and since I have wised up at this time, I traded it for a Highland Park 25. This is likely the most expensive mix one could even buy. The Green is by far the best JW out there (although I have not tried the gold).

[lancj1]

It does surprise me when people pan the JW Blue - I wonder whether its more to do with its cost ? I certainly couldnt justify buying it at its standard retail price, but I do get it in duty free when last time it was £120 per litre. Its a fantastic rich and complex whisky - in my opinion it's top of the tree.

Whether its actually worth the price is something only the consumer can make, but its a treat I guess

I struggle to justify paying over 25 quid for the supermarket malts,and alway look for the yellow labels in Tesco

[lincoln imp]

Thanks for all your comments. Also, the interesting article.

Next time that I'm through an airport, I might buy a 20cl bottle to taste it. But, based on your views, it won't be a regular in my drinks cabinet.

Take care.

If you get the chance try and get hold of an older bottle as opposed to a new one. The flavour profile has changed and the older one is smoother. I recently had a 90`s bottle and thought it was great.One of the best whiskies i had had for some time. My wife whow is not a big drinker also commented on how good it was. The price is expensive but there are many single malts for £120 - £150 that are crap so i wouldn`t get too hung up on the price.. It may not be worth the money but it is a fine drink.
Try the green label, a quarter of the price and an excellent dram.

[The Third Dram]

I certainly admire what Diageo has accomplished in terms of the marketing cachet the corporation has managed to built up around its Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky. And truth be told, I quite like the unique taste of this product. However, as regards the firm's line of blended Scotches, I'd opt for the Gold Label any time of the day...

Or else compose my own 'custom' blend of malt whiskies (a much more cost-productive and ultimately satisfying practice I've carried out on numerous occasions).

[Edelweiss Pirate]

I think you have to try it once to know what makes Blue Label special.

Simply it is an extremely old and refined whisky.

I love it. I also love Laphroaig, Ardbeg.... There's a lot of malts I don't like very much considering them a bit of a waste of time or over wooded: Highland Park, Macallan Fine Oak (Yuk!), Glenlivet..... Just boring bog standard malts for me at least.

I like something that is memorable in the glass and genuinely challenges you to play 'spot the flavours'.

YES Blue Label has some grain whisky... BUT this merely adds to the overall taste sensation of drinking this elixir, the grain fills the mouth and expands the flavours of the whisky to something which becomes almost more than a simple question of tastes but also a question of different sensations in the mouth. I imagine finding an old bottle of unknown whiskey, perhaps 100 years old, in an old cellar, covered in dust, mysterious and unknown, that whisky will probably taste like Blue Label. It IS good. No... it isn't. It's amazing.

And then there's the finish...... the finish that lasts ALL NIGHT. I'm not kidding..... it's the longest finish of any whisky I've ever tasted.

It has perfumed subtlety, finesse, plenty of smoke and peat for all you peat lovers, but also it has the taste of highland malt whiskey perfectly matured to smooth rich honeyed perfection.

Well, I love it....... I've managed to get it reasonably priced here in Cyprus, even at 100 quid it's easily worth 2 bottles of Lagavulin 16.

It's lovely, mysterious stuff, as soon as the bottle is finished you start to miss it.... and wonder when you'll get to taste it again.

[Willie JJ]

It's lovely, mysterious stuff, as soon as the bottle is finished you start to miss it.... and wonder when you'll get to taste it again.

Welcome to the forums Edelweiss Pirate. I have to say that, while I did enjoy the JW Blue, I'm not missing it that much.

[MARS]

JW blue is not a bad whisky but given what single malt I can have for that price, I have to be mad to buy a bottle. For the same price, I can get old longmorn/strathisla/tomatin/talisker/lochside. They are incredibly better than the blue label.

The red/black and gold are not bad with coke. Drank a gold label with coke, ice and soda for my last birthday. It was pretty decent.

[DavidUK]

A triumph of marketing over substance.

Good whisky? Yes. But you can easily find many Single Malts which are better(in my opinion) for a fraction of the cost.

[Muskrat Portage]

The red/black and gold are not bad with coke. Drank a gold label with coke, ice and soda for my last birthday. It was pretty decent.

(Twitch!) (Twitch!) (One eye rapidly blinking, the other rolling wildly around in it's socket) Ice! ...with Coke! ... urk!
Actually would be a tolerable drink. The soda would cut the Coke's sweetness nicely. Can't say as it's how I'd sample it for the first time, I'd rather use a Crown Royal or a CC in a like manner.

Musky

[rnicholls84]

In a tasting I much prefer the gold, which is a lovely smooth dram. I bought a bottle of blue recently as the duty free price and exchange rate meant it was a lot cheaper in comparison to the retail price. It's a bottle which will be opened for a celebration with family and friends, not sure when one will occur though!

Despite the price, a very pleasant whisky which I look forward to indulging in.

[Nu2Whisky]

Hi, As my name suggest , I'm new to whisky.

I started of with a taste of a Jameson and JW Black at a friends two months ago (barely) - both mixed.
I then bought a Bells (not nice), a Jameson 12, Shivas 12, Glenfiddich 12 (15 YO - 200ml.
I have the Jameson and shivas on the rocks.
The Glenfiddich neat.
I most recently bough a JW Blue and a Hennesy VSOP yesterday. Got the Blue @ 33% off the normal price so i figured it was a deal (Around $150)
I had the the Blue and I really enjoyed it. As I type this, it is smiling at me from my shelf. (Yes, yes, i'm coming)

Anyway - I refuse to be conditioned by just opinions of those who compare it to Red or slag the cost. That just is simply not true - that it tastes worse than JW-Red. I will form my own opinions. I just dont buy the whole "it has aromas of polished wooden floors,etc".

In fact, i'm gonna pour me a Fiddich 15 and the JW side by side - oh to hell with it, i'll pour all of them side-by side and decide for myself.

Till then