🥃 Whisky Auctioneer

Quite fresh and drinkable

orange, cookie dough, cinnamon, toffee, tobacco, dried fruits, quite pleasant

Honey, smoky, a touch of aged wine, lemon tea, and a light peatiness. The finish is very pleasant.

Very powerful and predominantly fruity whisky. In the nose the alcohol punch is a bit too much, in taste the Abv suits very well. Very pleasant dram.

A decent toffee note with some spice, but makes you smile. An enjoyable blend that is worth seeking out.

https://whiskylovingpianist.wordpress.com/2021/12/05/the-whisky-show-2021-part-6-11-the-misfits/ C: I like this, a sharper, fresher dram in comparison to the 28yo – which isn’t at all surprising. Better than JW Black [WLP83] certainly, but at £51, it needs to be. No details on the batch size, so perhaps this is a rolling celebratory bottling. The biggest thing to celebrate is that [enthusiasts] abv. Scores 85 points

Old School One of the special releases Johnnie Walker launched in honor of the 200th anniversary of the company in 2020 was this Celebratory Blend, inspired by the original Old Highland Whisky. Lovely old school nose on dried, yellow fruit (sultanas, peach, pineapple), candied orange peel, molded wood and bakery spices. A hint of smoke, very delicate and distinguished. Soft vanilla. Touch of caramel. I’m very impressed with this nose. Good body, almost syrupy. Raw sugar, orange juice, applesauce, vanilla custard, maple syrup, dark honey and some cashew nuts. Lovely spiciness in the guise of pepper, liquorice and lots of woodsmoke. Again that delicate smokiness that slowly but surely becomes quite grand. This is impressively good. Outstanding finish. Long, smoky, sweet and softly drying. Had I known this was going to be so good, I would have gotten three bottles. I think I may need to sneak this into a blind tasting to surprise the JW haters. Would love to see the look on their faces.

A whisky befitting of such an iconic brand.

Johnnie Walker with 51% The Johnnie Walker Celebratory Blend was composed to celebrate the 200th anniversary of blenders. 2020 marks the 200th anniversary of John Walker opening his small grocery store in Scotland. The Celebratory Blend was inspired by John Walker & Sons' 'Old Highland Whisky' which was created for export in the 1860s and was the first whiskey from Scotland to be distributed around the world.

Interesting whiskey. Somehow he reminds me of Blair Athol in blind tasting. Quite a nice whiskey of a somewhat youthful and impetuous variety. But much riper than many blends. You didn't notice the "blend" here.

An interesting blend, which performs slightly above the current green label in my opion. For my personal palate it's got just a little too much sour grape like notes though.

A rather minimalist, balanced, easy-drinking whiskey, a little biting, light despite the sharpness and spiciness, simple, but not primitive.

Overall, a very welcome bottling with a beautifully balanced drinking strength. It certainly offers enough to keep you occupied for a while and to explore its flavor profile. I like the pronounced spice notes, but unfortunately, the character of the fruit notes doesn't appeal to me, as they have a slightly fermented touch.

S 7 Caramel, toffee, and sufficient spices to keep things going on. Decent blend. Like having a sweet. 81-85 - Another dram welcomed

I think it will be one of those bottles that shouldn't be missing on any JW shelf in the future. This bottling is a must for every JW lover! The look alone obliges you to buy. Great made with this presentation on "old school" and then bottled with more than 50%. Unique. It will be a milestone in the company's history and has truly earned every future award. Thanks to JW for the courage to create this wonderful Celebratory Blend. Original note from JW: ... inspired by our original "Old Highland Whiskey" from 1860.

It is a fascinating whiskey. For some reason, its aroma and flavor change depending on the situation (the temperature, the amount of water, what has been eaten or drunk before, the company?). Sometimes citrus and sweet notes dominate, other times smoky and buttery notes dominate. The touch of grain is sometimes evident and sometimes completely absent. Sometimes it seems like a complex whiskey that is at least 15 years old, and other times it seems like a simple and accessible whiskey to drink carefree in the summer. Sometimes very honeyed (like Cardhu or Cragganmore), other times very citrusy (even with cheese notes, like Wolfburn or Bladnoch), other times soft and sweet peat is the protagonist (like Caol Ila or Benromach). After spending a lot of time with him, I can't find a specific profile for him, since he has a will of his own and decides to reveal himself however he wants. It's one of those whiskeys that, honestly, seems completely different from the last time. Can a whiskey be described as "kaleidoscopic"? When I first got acquainted with it, it seemed similar to Clynelish 14 (fruity, citrus, saline, etc.) and after returning to it (half a bottle, 500 km away) the smoky notes are so evident that I can't believe it I didn't realize it, looking more like Caol Ila 12 (peaty, citrus, herbal, etc.). Lately, peat has taken a backseat and tends to show fascinating citrus and musty, cheese-like notes (Bladnoch, Springbank). Certainly disconcerting. The only thing I can say for sure is that with four drops of water it improves a lot, that the citrus notes are the only constant, that it probably has a decent percentage of malt whiskey of around 15 years, that some of the malts are smoky, that it is surprising, unreliable, unpredictable, unexpected and irregular (although most of the time excellent), and that it is the best Johnnie Walker I have ever tried. I don't know if I would recommend it, but I, personally, am glad I picked up a bottle. I'll probably buy it again sooner or later... if it's still around.

Quite a nice blend.

Beautiful dram. Oranges, pineapple, spices, sultanas, vanilla, some barrel char. Lingering finish. Reminiscent of Clynelish. Wonder how much of it is in there?

05/12/2024 - 30 ml / 30 ml ice / 40 ml 40% Thanks to our colleague Thiago Rentz, who provided this tasting. A good old-fashioned blend, which celebrates the origins of JW in a good ex-bourbon blend. Perhaps my perceptions would require a better score, however in relation to several Single Malts with a high alcohol content but without the alcoholic perception, it loses; but it is a beautiful example for an ancestral drink.

Alcohol: 51% Aroma: Bourbon influence, fresh wood, sawdust, straw, hay, fruity sweetness. (85b) Taste: Better than the smell. Spicy, juicy, fruity sweet. I guess 52.4%. (87b) Points: 86/100 Summary: Blend by JW??? Well, I didn't realize it was a blend, that's a big surprise. I liked it very much, I would take a bottle if it was available for under €40. Thanks to José for the blind test and the opportunity to taste.

Tasted on 01-17-2022.

An interesting JW, the nose is great especially with air in the bottle. I felt a bit let down by the palate and finish though. Definitely buy for any JW fan. Unless you’re in that group I think your money’s better spent elsewhere (on the green label, for example, which is a lot cheaper in the UK). Happy birthday, Johnnie!

Clearly my favourite Johnnie Walker expression, sitting even above Green Label in my personal ranking. Despite the brand’s mass-market reputation, you see this as a genuinely well-made whisky that delivers strong value, with a richness and balance that exceed expectations for the category. At 51% ABV, the strength is surprisingly well integrated rather than aggressive, and it drinks naturally without needing dilution. The overall profile comes across as a rich, fruity malt-led blend with gentle spice and a soft peppery edge, maintaining good cohesion throughout. The nose shows malty cereals, honey, orchard fruits, salted caramel, citrus peel, and a light touch of peat smoke. On the palate it becomes more textured and expressive, with oily malt, honeycomb, lemon, nutty notes, peppery spice, dark sweet fruits, and gentle smoke. The finish is a highlight, bringing white pepper, malt, fading smoke, saline notes, and a long warming fade. What holds it back from a higher score is not a lack of quality, but rather character. You feel it is slightly too polished or “engineered,” missing a bit of raw or quirky distillery personality that would push it into truly exceptional territory. Overall, this is a high-performing blended malt-style whisky that delivers richness, drinkability, and balance at a strong level, but stops just short of standout individuality.

Bittersweet symphony I recently had a one-on-one interview with a director of brand strategy company that was going to help reposition a VERY big name in the whisky firmament, they’d lost their way, couldn’t connect with consumers as they used to and certainly were at the bottom of contemporary whisky nerds lists of covetable whiskies. And the conversation bounced between and few subjects but the one he kept steering back to was the meaning of ‘craft’. (He may have already decided what their ‘problem’ was and may have been building data to support his answer). Anyway, I talked about craft and how it’s a very difficult thing to build into a large brand with a portfolio that has to offer consistency across many global territories, big products are uniform and consistent for a good few reasons, primarily its supports scale. But, it’s a double edged sword, like McDonald’s, one of their burgers is a go to for many people around the world when travelling, a known quantity, safe, but it’s always the last name on the list when it comes to a really tasty burger experience. When you want that, you go off the beaten track, you look for the local, the outlier, the one that’s getting love online, that’s hitting instagram hard and that offers something more ‘real’ than the ‘Big Food Brand’ is offering. And with whisky, like with burgers, it’s kind of the same. Once you’re into it, you’re looking for a deeper experience, a sense of getting closer to the product and eschewing polish and glum glam for character, personality and idiosyncratic details. It’s the imperfections and variations that excite long after the glamour of the idea of perfect fades. So, we talked about how they could achieve this, how could they reconnect and my thoughts were you have to go out there with products that aren’t perfect BUT excite. Looks like Johnnie Walker beat them to the punch a while back, or maybe, has just shown them (and a few others) the way. (how has this flown under my rdar for so long?). So, what have we here then? I see a lot of people chucking about the term ‘Old School’ but what the heck does that actually mean when we’re dealing with a global behemoth making a whisky to celebrate a company that was making blended whisky that was produced in the most part from pouring into other people’s jugs when they came in to a grocers in Kilmarnock a looooong time ago. There’s ’old school’ and then there’s ’OLD SCHOOL’. And the old school JW are alluding to is something most if not all people around today have never been exposed to. And that’s fine. Maybe it’s better to drop that whole ‘old school’ prebuilt talking point and just go with something far more visceral, far more tangible, far more real. For JW PR aside, this is a blended whisky that may be nearer an original recipe but also presented in a more ‘less F’s given’, more down home, rustic, less polished, perfected, corporate way. This, this 51% oddment feels like something truly special from a brand that usually makes whisky that is anything but. This kind of stuff engages the nerds and get them chatting. This is an exercise in in making connections outside of a corporate brand bubble. It’s a little magic trick. And it works. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a lucky mistake, this is planned, designed and executed perfectly. Enough nonsense. What is it actually like? On the nose, oooh. Well, I’ve never had a Johnnie Walker come out of the glass like this before - that muscular ABV imparts a presence that you just never get from the core range bottles no matter what’s in the mix. The nose is engaged. It really has my attention. Yellow fruit marmalade, a bready, almost wine yeast note, something like oak soaked in young brandy, a creamy little custard cream biscuit makes a look in, something almost faintly funky, the merest puff of smoke, a bit of old canvas bag, some chewed toffee that’s been stuck onto an oak board, moments of being in an old shed with tins of decaying long forgotten varnish, those cheap European chocolate balls, baked apples and vanilla pods, overdone shortcrust pastry, some powdered mace, honeysuckle, tired old black pepper, leather., a sliver of preserved lemons, and it keeps coming back to a nice chewy toffee heart. This is not a bad thing at all. Not the most active of noses BUT for a Johnnie Walker it’s up there and best of all, it actually smells delicious, inviting and, dare I say it, interesting. Ho ho! Off we go. In the mouth and the first sip lets you know this is a blend. The grain is there, the mouthfeel is unmistakable, the lightness, creaminess and sweetness that grain imparts is there and then is slides effortlessly into richer flavours, those nice toffee notes arrive bookended with gentle honeysuckles and faint lemon rind and at the other end nice drying oak notes and pepper, ginger and a slight bitterness that feels correct and keeping things from getting too sweet. There’s little flickers of apricots jams, creamy leathers, warming champagne yeast notes (not quite brioche but you know what I mean), back on the nose and it seems a few sips ramps up the perception of chocolates and toffees and tropical travel sweets, Back in the mouth and it just seems to get better with every little sip. It genuinely feels like a whisky that changes significantly over quite a short period of time (others seem to think this too - it’s not just me) and keeps you nicely engaged. Thera even strange moments when I’m reminded of Michel Couvreur Overaged Malt, that musty, musky dank sherry note I find in their stuff. What’s that doing here? Nice! The most surprising thing is how this all gets delivered. This is 51% - this does not feel like 51%. Maybe 46-48% is where I’d have pegged it, it comes across as relaxed as a very relaxed thing indeed, this is not putting up a fight, causing a scene, or even raising its voice, cool, calm, collected. Alarmingly easy to slide into a bottle of this for 51%. The finish? Meh, it’s scotch. It could be better. That grain component always seems to me to be the thief of joy when it comes to a prolonged finish. It’s just how it is BUT, this is much more about how you get to the end rather than the end in itself. The journey is not significantly diminished by the last few miles pulling into the station. Any good? Oh yes. This is a little marvel, a beautiful example of the blenders art, this is the kind of stuff nerds crave and it’s also the kind of stuff that will entice new people further into whisky. This is a little love note from their brand, and for those willing to engage and park their brand snobbery, a whisky that will probably be remembered long, long after the bottle’s is empty. Yes it’s coloured, it’s blended scotch, it’s missing an age statement, it’s from a global monster brand, the bottle is the cheapest glass going, but it’s still surprisingly good (and the packaging and label design is rather nice). I’ll have another.

Excellent value for money, with a history (200 years old) and an incredible 51% bottled. Bravo!

n: vanilla, citrus, nuts, honey, oak, peppery, spicy, cherry, plastic notes, hint of smoke, gentleman's dram t: sweet, vanilla a: lot of nuts! pleasant, sweet, old wood

Unfortunately, the second bottle tasted almost a class worse, so instead of 88 only 82 points

This is a wonderful whisky, flavoursome and spicy. The 51% is interesting as it is not usual for JW. Probably a one off, so enjoy while you can!

Classic, and simply the best J. walker I've tried. For the given price a no brainer. Details to follow...

A good whiskey for the money and considering the 51% ABV. I would never have thought of a blended malt blindly. Absolutely worth buying for around € 50. If you are looking for a modern whiskey, you will probably not like it that much. This one has an old (sherry) profile, like a couvreur, if not quite as good.

Johnnie Walker makes decent and consistent blends as far as brand-name blends go. Diageo does step outside of bounds for the brand here and there - for example with the excellent Green Label, the excellent Ghost and Rare Blue series (but pricey), and now, with the truly excellent Celebratory Blend which also happens to be a great value. And, a JW blend at 51% alc! Amazing. Complex bittersweet old-style slightly mossy/musty (in a good way) sherry on the nose - although it's not heavy sherry, allowing other elements to add balance. On the palate, waxy orchard fruits (Clynelish?), a myriad of complex fruit flavors which become more pronounced on the finish, along with a wisp of peat (possibly from Talisker and/or Caol Ila?). Truly great old-world style whisky AND a great value. Reminds me of the also excellent (and higher priced) Collectivum 28 from Diageo. Will need to sample head-to-head one day to compare. One caution with either of these bottles - the bitter-sweet / dirty / musty sherry could be off-putting for those just getting acquainted with whisky. Something to consider especially considering the excellent price.

Week

Cost-effectiveness score: 90, a highly cost-effective and digitally harmonious product that is generally quite balanced and has no obvious flaws.

Welcome back to the beginning of a great success story. This is what scotch whisky is all about at it's core. And it shows how good a JW can be today, if they'd just wanted to.

This is my favorite JW blend now. Previously it was the Blade runner. Still a fan of the blue/green/platinum/gold/ black and even red offerings too. But I love this one. It really opens up with a drop of water, thick warm toffee and cream. surprisingly long finish. Will probably make an exceptional hot toddy too.

Nose was quite peppery, a nice spicy punch to the nose. Taste wise, very thin, a bit ginger-ish with gentle hints of citrus yet have that biscuity taste finishing.