Whisky Advice

Bottled: 2005.

Colour: Chestnut. Olorosso Sherry.

Nose: On first encounter, the old Johnnie Walker Black gives you this wonderful complex smoky, peaty aroma with beautiful sweetness piercing through to reveal barley sugar, stewed apples, raisins and hints of cinnamon. 22

Taste: As the liquid first hits the palate there is a fantastic balance of sweet & salty flavours. Salty iodine is masterfully contrasted to barly sugar sweetness with a dash of nutmeg. 22

Finish: There’s that peatiness again – not overpowering, fading to a wonderful contrast of sweetness and saltiness begging you to wash it down with another dram. On a side note though, there is something else there too begging to be washed down. Now maybe it’s just flashbacks to a misspent youth but there’s an overpowering sweaty peatiness on the back palate that just detracts from all those wonderful flavours. Perhaps it’s the same horrendous thing that goes into Johnnie Walker Red Label. That all being said though, it does drop off quite quickly and leave you with that wonderful finish. 18

Balance/Complexity: Allegedly, there is a blend of about 40 whiskies that go into making Johnnie Walker Black Label and you truly get that complexity coming through. Not only is this blend wonderfully complex but it is also beautifully balanced. The sweet and salty contrast on the lingering finish will have you going back for yet another dram to discover but more intricacies in this wonderfully complex Scotch blend. 20

82.