Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Link to Dellnola's notes again: connosr.com/reviews/johnnie-walker/…

Watery, floral, and over priced hype...I agree. Much like all of the J. Walker expressions. Overall, I'm not a fan and won't yield to "conventional wisdom" when it comes to Johnnie Walker- serve it to your guests: they will think you are the man and you can save the good stuff yourself

^That's so true^

I even like the Black Label more than this one :p I dont understand why they put vodka(grains;) in this. If I was Johnnie, I'd make this the only pure malt blend in stead of the discontinued Green Label

I'd like to try that Double Black and see if it really is smoky

I wouldn't waste your time on Double Black. Sorta smokey, but it's just one of those wiskeys I have no desire to drink again. Not that it's terrible, it just is a little too subtle it flavor for me. It's only smokey to the point that it tastes like someone put in liquid smoke in the mix. imho.

I find JW Double Black to be highly amusing...not high art, but highly entertaining. I like it quite a lot actually, but I don't taste much of anything in it but smoke...it's more like quadruple black...smoke...smoke, smoke...and smoke...

@Rantavahti, more about Johnnie Walker Double Black, using an entertainment simile: you have gone to the opera house and thought you would see a performance of Gotterdammerung, but when the music started you realised that what you were really seeing was a performance of The Merry Widow...light fare,...maybe you will be amused by The Merry Widow, or maybe you will be angry because what you really wanted to see was The Twilight of the Gods.

@Victor in your honor, I pulled down the self-aerating bottle from the shelf and had a dram. Maybe I'm just a cork guy. I still stand by my assessment, but I definitely like your analogy there. I believe there was someone in the discussions asking for a whiskey you could drink for hours with and not get wasted...this might be it. Very passive, and you'll be sleeping before you get drunk. Cheers.

Going back to topic though. I know the Single malt fans here have a particular disdain for the johnnies, but I really don't think it deserves a 60. I mean its not 90s, maybe not even 80s, but 60...eh, I think thats a bit harsh. Only fair if you are ONLY comparing the top bottlings or if you're just rating its price:value.

Thanks for your interesting thoughts, especially @Victor for your great opera comparison...

I like to put every whisky on the same line, whether it's a single malt or not. I just think that this one's only worth a score of 60, no matter on what's the point of view. After all we're in for a quest for finding the best whiskies out there (of course these are only my notes and that's why, my quest :)

I do have examples of single malt (Glenfiddich) losing to a blended whisk(e)y that uses also grains. Somehow those blended ones always seem to be from Japan...