Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old

It had been over 5 years since I allowed a Johnnie Walker Black Label to tinkle into my glass. It has a fair reputation, no? It contains quite a few malts, such as Glendullan, Mortlach, Lagavulin, Talisker and Caol Ila, upholstered with grain whisky from Cameronbridge. It is bottled as drinking strength.

The nose starts off fruity (think peach and candied pineapple), but soon turns somewhat dark on pear drops and brown sugar. It has a mildly salty and smoky edge, but quite discreet. Less than I remember, in any event. But the nose is more than pleasant, to be honest.

The arrival is surprisingly weak, almost watery. That is a pity, because the taste is not bad at all. Vanilla and some sherry, but then some pleasant earthy notes and a nice development of smoke.

The finish is fruity, but mostly sweet. And medium in length.

Well, it is far cry from a big whisky, but still quite pleasant. A card player’s dram in a smoky jacket.

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