Johnnie Walker has been a staple in the whisky business as we know it today and it's typically what we think about when we think Scotch - which works perfect for Diageo. It is perhaps the best selling Scotch and as such the centrepiece of the Diageo pedestal. And yet, for some reason its various colours continues to confuse me.

So let's get into it - Johnnie Walker was named after John Walker, a Scottish grocer in Kilmarnock, an area in south Scotland. He had sought to create a Scotch whisky that had more consistency than he felt was a real problem with the single malts he had stocked on his shelves. Hence he concluded that by blending various Scotch whiskies, he was able to achieve a generally more consistent profile. This worked wonderfully and his blends took off. 

The colour coding begin in 1909 with the Red and Black labels as customers then tended to use colors to identify various Highland whiskies. (Image Source: Johnnie Walker)

It might be interesting to note that John Walker himself didn't drink alcohol, but really was out to solve a real need for his consumers - in fact, he'd go so far as to blend it on demand to fit what his customers wanted. It's like Allison's Pantry but for Scotch, I suppose.

The brand Johnnie Walker didn't even exist till his grandson had joined the business, back then he'd simply call it Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky. But I'm inclined to agree that Johnnie Walker has a better ring to it. 

So about those colours - the Red and Black label are the longest standing, while the Blue is obviously today the most recognised of the lot. 

Red Label: A non-age-stated blend of malt and grain whiskies. Entry-level. 

Black Label: Aged 12 years, it is also a blend of malt and grain whiskies. There's a Double Black variant that contains more smoky malt whiskies and is also matured in heavily charred oak casks.

Green Label: A blended malt whisky with no grain whiskies added, all of which are aged for 15 years minimally. There's an Island Green variant that also contains more smoky malt whiskies from Islay.

Gold Label: A blend of over 15 single malts, it was derived from Alexander Walker II's blending notes for a whisky to commemorate Johnnie Walker's centenary. Was originally aged for 18 years, but is now non-age statement and renamed "Gold Label Reserve".

Blue Label: Johnnie Walker's premium blend. Non-age statement as well but contains more prized whiskies, some of which are from ghost distilleries that no longer operate. 

So in short,

Red Label: Most basic, malt and grain whiskies.

Black Label: 12 years old, malt and grain whiskies.

Green Label: 15 years old, no grain whiskies.

Gold Label: Likely around 18 years old, contains 15 different single malts.

Blue Label: Most premium, non-age statement but contains whiskies from bygone distilleries.

Well, today we have a vintage 1980's Johnnie Walker Black Label, back when it was bottled at 43% ABV rather than today's 40% ABV.

Let's go! 

Tasting Notes

Color: Deep Amber

Aroma: Ooh interesting! Black pepper steak sauce mixed with some honey, gently smoky and aromatic. There's a little bit more on light umami of dried mushrooms, which then gets more floral and sweet of honeysuckle flowers. The light peatiness is Islay medicinal which is that classic tincture dabbed bandages and burnt seaweed.

Taste: Smoky honey soy BBQ glaze, with that same light medicinal herbaceousness - all very vibrant but with no harshness. It's medium bodied but still fairly oily. Frankly this would work great as steak sauce.

Finish: More on oaky astringency and honey but a good balance to the palate.

My Thoughts

This is pretty surprising in that it was very mellow and a good mix of sweet, umami, lightly smoky and medicinal - all very meaty. I'm not sure if it's because it's vintage so the alcoholic bite has worn off leaving only the flavors (alcohol is not a flavor), but man it still retains that vibrancy, which is probably the 46% ABV at bottling. In any case this was pure steak sauce all the way. This would be fantastic for a BBQ.

Frankly I always find Johnnie Walker's the best when they're anywhere from the 80's and before where the alcohol's sort of dissipated leaving all that cordial or sauce like flavors fully concentrated with no heat.

You can find this pretty regularly on the auction boards at Whisky Auctioneer (International Shipping), I tried this at Singapore's Samsu Huay Kuan bar.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot