Johnnie Walker Black Label: The Single Malt Review Episode 174

[@ianholmes6078]

"Less of a jarring juxtaposition" True wordsmiths! I had a pour of this at a lounge, and really enjoyed the faint smoke, and easy drinking nature. It surpised me how much I enjoyed it. Excellent as always gents.

[@sfchrisrom]

Great review. JWB is a very well put blend, if a little over blended to maintain consistency in an ever changing supply of available malts. JWB is so important to Diageo, that they haven't tinkered with the recipe too much. The grain whisky is well integrated and I spot the signature JW taste. Caol Ila and Talisker are present IMO. I can't taste Lagavulin, perhaps due to limited supplies but Mortlach is prominent. Peat malt is probably 5-6% IMO. Dry peat. There is a orange rind, nutmeg and cinnamon smell/flavor and the coastal brininess.

[@tonychehade6434]

You're bang on with your assessment gents

[@crimsonkes3309]

Thank you Gentlemen, another excellent review.

[@BernellJonesII]

When I first tasted this, I instantly thought peat. Spot on

[@myresonance8013]

Just started drinking whiskey.. Black label does it for me although the Jura prophecy is georgous too, my question is how do I know if its peat that I Like? I can't work out what flavours are happening..

[@joaovilaca1436]

Why does this channel have so few views? You deserve more subscribers and viewers, for sure!!

[@TheSingleMaltReview]

Gratifying that you think so. Feel free to recommend us!

[@abcdefgfred5883]

Great team. Alway look forward to your reviews. keep them coming.

[@loranddeka]

JW Black is one of my favorites. It keeps the good things Red has and smoothes out the burn, making it something that's mixable and a sipper (not an easy thing to do).

[@DJFAmenHeavy]

I’ve tried many single malts over the years. But nothing is as enjoyable as JW black for me. It’s glorious

[@secordman]

So far I agree. I've had five single malts, this is still my favourite.

[@ryan_deakin]

Thanks ,Tim and Eric

[@drax14QC]

For me Johnnie Walker Black Label in one word : Balanced. Smoky, dry and sweet and the flavours are very well integrated. Definitely one of the best whiskies I’ve tasted so far. A true classic everyone must at least try.

[@myresonance8013]

Just started drinking whiskey.. Black label does it for me although the Jura prophecy is georgous too, my question is how do I know if its peat that I Like? I can't work out what flavours are happening.. What does peat taste like ?

[@TheSingleMaltReview]

Describing peat as it occurs in Scotch whisky is a challenge. It's smokey, but a deeply savory/tangy/astringent smoke, rather than the typical 'smoked' quality you get in say, smoked meat. I think a good measure of whether you really like peat or not is to find one of the fully peated blends (Double Black & Famous Grouse Smokey Black) and try that. Or jump straight into a peated Islay single malt like Caol Islay for an even bigger hit.

[@thevelointhevale1132]

Double Black is Talisker infused ... in my humble opinion. Talisker 10 is one of my favorite Whiskies so I know it well enough to spot it in the blend. I do not think Talisker is in the standard Black however - it is something else.

[@6string42]

Have you done a Green Label review yet?

[@900nrg]

it's good stuff specially once you had a bottle of caol ila and talisker you get to understand and to appreciate this whisky better.

[@mikebennett3741]

Good review. Seems like price/value is the missing link in this discussion. I agree it is a nice blend, but is it worth the massive premium over, say, Teacher’s? Or does it stack up against decent single malts in the same price range? I find my hard-earned dollars drawn elsewhere. But would be more than happy to drink it at a friend’s house!

[@michaelmcclure3383]

I've started drinking scotch again over the winter, went with old favourites like Glenmorangie 10 year old and Glenlivet. But now looking for something a little less expensive.. the ones I'm looking at are the Glen Moray, Teachers and Jonny Walker black label. Which one would you recommend? Or should I just try them all over the next month or two haha

[@mikebennett3741]

@@michaelmcclure3383 I’m partial to Teacher’s on that list. A couple other good blends to look for are Hankey Bannister Original and Gordon Graham’s Black Bottle.

[@michaelmcclure3383]

@@mikebennett3741 thanks! I actually went for the Glen Moray Classic, perhaps I'll try Teachers next. I do like the Glen Moray, it's no Glenmorangie, but it's very decent, especially for the price. I'll look out for the other two as well, although I'm not familiar with them at all. The Hankey Bannister seems to be locally available I see.

[@secordman]

I did like Teachers for the money, but JWB is worth the premium. Not cheap, only problem.

[@mikebennett3741]

@@secordman Recently tried Compass Box Glasgow Blend, which is priced close to JWB. I think the Glasgow is better. But I don’t spend a lot of time or money on blended scotch.

[@samuelcast1]

In talking with a JW ambassador sometime ago, talking about the JW line your 60 to 40 ratio would be correct if we were talking about the red label ,which has majority grain to malt, My understanding with the black and up from there is more malt to grain in their products, and ratio is adjusted accordingly, exception is the green label of course.

[@TheSingleMaltReview]

Well, Green Label is uniquely 0 to 100 - but I'd be willing to entertain that Black Label had a bit more malt in it than other blends of it's lik. That may be how it maintains such a dry character, grain whisky being typically sweet.

[@michaelmcclure3383]

I feel you on the Ballantines. Sad reminder,

[@rab-cnesbit4181]

My daughter has got me a bottle for Christmas, I'm disabled and in chronic pain so this is gonna be a pleasure painkiller.

[@cato451]

I’m with DAVE on this one. I give JW black high marks

[@TheSingleMaltReview]

I might have confused you there by putting the score cards up on the wrong side of the screen. My (Tim's) score was the higher 87 in this case.

[@cato451]

The Single Malt Review well then Tim, I stand corrected and I am with you on this one. I always have a bottle of JW black for those nights when I just want to enjoy a fine dram of whisky without complications.

[@haydnball990]

Hows the cat?

[@TheSingleMaltReview]

The many cats are doing fine. A few sniffles for the winter.

[@joeyjuandiaz6195]

I love this whiskey but it is pricey 40$