A RELOOK AT THE DOUBLE BLACK & BLACK LABEL BLENDED SCOTCH

 JOHNNIE WALKER DOUBLE BLACK LABEL NAS

Johnnie Walker Double Black is inspired by the iconic flavours of Johnnie Walker Black Label and turns them up to create a blend of unprecedented intensity, using a few younger malts like Talisker 10, as well as a younger grain whisky from third fill barrels.

JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL: You wouldn’t be far wrong in saying that Johnnie Walker Black Label was a true icon, recognised as the benchmark for all other deluxe blends globally from 1920-2005. It was at top spot in Asia from the mid 1980s till 2005. Phipson’s Black Dog ruled the roost in Asia from 1889 to 1980. Something Special came to the fore between 1960 and 2010, when it was packed off to South America to leave the market open for Chivas Regal to strengthen its hold of numero uno in China and Asia. Johnnie Walker Black Label, created using only whiskies aged for a minimum of 12 years from the four corners of Scotland, had an unmistakably smooth, deep, complex character, now lost to the masses.

Yesterday's Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Years Old Blended Scotch Whisky had Cardhu as its core malt, backed up with the super-smooth Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, Linkwood, Teaninich, the multi-faceted Cragganmore, Clynelish, Dailuaine, Talisker and Caol Ila. Today, the recognisable Single Malts for me are Clynelish 14 YO, Cardhu, Caol Ila, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie and Talisker. Mortlach, Linkwood and Dailuaine are lost to posterity. JW claims that there are at least 25-28 more Single Malts and they must be right; it is a 40-whisky blend, after all. The Single Malts need not be from different distilleries; any distillery can provide tens of Single Malts, of the same or different ages.

The recognisable Grain Whisky is Cameronbridge, one of probably five. All whiskies named above are 12 YO or older. Talisker, most popular as a peated 10 YO, remains casked for two years more to contribute to the blend. These 12 YOs, which are of both the peated and unpeated variety, are not sold in the market, and have, sadly, not been used for over five years, with detrimental effect on the Blend.

The slightly smoky taste comes from the Cragganmore and Talisker. The hint of peat comes primarily from Caol Ila, strengthened by Clynelish and Benrinnes; the smoothness comes from Cardhu, Glenkinchie, Blair Athol and the 4-5 Grain Whiskies that are used to tame and meld the malts perfectly. A 1-litre bottle of Black Label costs $ 28. A bottle of 0.70 L Caol Ila 12 YO costs $56, or $80 per litre. The Caol Ila 12 YO is far more expensive and Diageo is losing money on the peated malt diverted to making the Black and other Labels. The same is true for ALL other Single Malts that made up the once fabulous concoction of JW Black Label! The Malt whiskies tot up to 40-45%. The Grain whiskies, ~55%, are also 12 YO. The last one percent is taken up by E150A Caramel colourant.

It is rated as an impressive whisky to share on any occasion, whether you're entertaining at home with friends or on a memorable night out. But it has lost top spot amongst 12 YO Blended Scotch whiskies simply because Diageo has run out of single malts that met the original recipe. No amount of experimenting with other single malts-up to 35 or even more of them can replicate the Extra Special Old Highland 12 YO, the original name of the Black Label till 1909. Dewar’s 12 YO, Buchanan's Deluxe 12 YO, Grand Old Parr and Chivas Regal deluxe whiskies are rated higher than Black Label.

JOHNNIE WALKER DOUBLE BLACK LABEL: The turn of the millennium saw a trend towards peated and smoky whiskies. Using the Black Label as a baseline, peat and smoky single malts were introduced to the mix, while removing quite a few standard single malts. Strongly influenced by powerful West Coast and Island whiskies, Johnnie Walker Double Black is best enjoyed with a teaspoon of water to unlock its complex layers of smouldering spice and smoke. An impressive blend to share, whatever the occasion.

The heavier influence of the ‘big’ flavours of Scotland’s West Coast and Islands is immediately apparent, with swirls of peat smoke over rich raisins and fruits - apples, pears and citrus. These soften into sweet vanillas and spice, before developing into a warming finish of oak tannins and lingering smokiness.    

The International Whisky Competition is an event that takes place annually in Chicago in the first week of May, in which whiskies are blind tasted and rated by a professional tasting panel. The results are used to produce tasting notes for an International Whisky Guide. There is no Scotsman on the panel- it is entirely American. This esteemed panel selected Glenmorangie Signet NAS as the Whisky of the Year 2016 with 97 points and Johnnie Walker Double Black Label was awarded the Gold Medal in the Best Blended Scotch NAS (No Age Statement) category with 94 points, ahead of Johnnie Walker Blue Label (91.3 pts). JWBL managed only the Bronze Medal in the Best Blended Scotch Whisky 12 YO category with 89.8 points. That kills the Double Black vs Black Label controversy! That also confirms that Johnnie Walker Black Label is no longer the bar for premium Blended Scotch Whisky.

JW Double Black has an easier structure compared to Black Label, with important differences. The number of Single Malts and Grain Whiskies has reduced. It primarily uses the well-peated Talisker 10 YO and Caol Ila 12 YO, with the lightly peated Cragganmore, Clynelish 14 YO and Benrinnes in support. One or two Single Malts have been replaced. Single Malt from the new distillery at Roseisle that opened in 2006 produces 7-8 m litres a year (designed for 10 million litres), and a fair share of young malts join the group. All Single Malts in JWDBL are 8 YO and more, with a few drops of a couple of smoky peated Single Malts added: probably Caol Ila 8 YO and Lagavulin 8 YO. Peated whiskies are more expensive than non-peated expressions. The single grain is also 10 YO, but from a better set of barrels.

The peating process between kilning, drying and mashing is tricky and time consuming. Following the kilning, the peated malt is removed and stored in bins for five or six weeks. This allows the heat to dissipate naturally. Hot malt can affect the fermentation process negatively. The Malt whiskies tot up to 55-57%. Put together, these are the reasons why the brand costs $5-8 (12-20%) more than JW Black Label (non-discounted). In Bangkok, however, they cost the same.