Johnnie Walker Black Label
Color: Amber +0
ABV: 40%
Aroma Neat:
Mineral Peat, Sweet Char/Ashy Cinders, Honey, Apples, Toffee (slightly), Fresh Vanilla, Cocoa Powder (slightly), Lemon Rind, Syrupy Oak (softly).
Quite gentle and even-keeled on the nose. Rounded, a little sweet, but agreeable. Caol Ila peat/lemoniness is evident here, as it was in the Red. That's a big plus from me.
Aroma Water:
Dry Peat, Aged Oak, Thick Honey/Light Caramel, Apples, Cinnamon, Vanilla Pods, Porridge/Cook Grains, Lemon (very slightly).
More open and expressive than neat, a big improvement.
Taste Neat:
Caramel/Toffee, Dry Peat, Butter (slightly), Metallic/Aluminum, Oak, Light Barrel Char, Pepper (very slightly),
Comes across as thin a watery. I actually waited a bit to review this because I thought my nose and palate were off. For me, the palate falls a little flat.
Taste Water:
Mineral Peat, Metallic Tanginess, Ruddy Honey, Stale Barrel Char, Vanilla, Bananas, Cinnamon, Pepper (slightly).
Quite thin now, which is a shame because water really helped the nose.
Finish:
Oak (slightly), Barrel Char/Charcoal, Peat, Vanilla.
The same somewhat unpleasant metallic note from Red Label is back again. It's less noticeable now though that there is more going on.
Conclusion:
Rounded, but overly shy nose. Perhaps too rounded...
Thin palate which is amenable, but uninspiring. Drowns quickly.
Finish that is not bad, but pretty short.
Rating: 70/100
Oh, I can hear the outcry now, "How dare you rate Black Label and Red Label so similarly?!?!" Well, although I think Black is a more mature and rounded and arguably of "better quality" than Red, I find it to be less interesting. Since my ratings are based solely on my enjoyment, being interesting is very important.
Certainly Black Label is easy to gulp, but that's not why I drink whisky.
Josh
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