THE JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL ORIGIN SERIES

 JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL 200TH ANNIVERSARY

It's often said that, in the bottle of fine alcohol, people can sense the spirit of the nation from which it came. Simply giving a freshly uncorked bottle a whiff will make you say: “Well, well. So this is what it’s about.” Out in the Scottish Highlands, one man gets to live that every day, to smell and taste the spirit of his home. That’s Jim Beveridge, the man behind the distilled magic at Johnnie Walker, their Master Blender.

Diageo has given its eponymous Black Label a makeover to celebrate 200 years since John Walker started his journey. Johnnie Walker has launched its Black Label Origin Series in India. A collection of four 12 year old blended Scotch whiskies, the series resonates with flavours that represent the Origins from the four annotated Regions of Scotch Whisky in Scotland, viz. Speyside, Highlands, Lowlands and Islay.

They believe that this will be a limited-edition design for a timeless classic. Johnnie Walker Black Label used to be sweetness wrapped in drifting smoke at 43% ABV. It is still touted as a masterful blend of single malt and grain whiskies from across Scotland, aged for at least 12 years but bottled at 40% ABV. The result is a whisky with depth and balance of flavour. Sadly, it has lost its charm and vice-like grip on the deluxe blended Scotch whisky market, as the original malts have gone into posterity. Jim Beveridge is due to retire soon. I believe it is only a matter of time till JWBL goes NAS.

Blender George Harper, who created the successful White Walker release in early 2019, describes the four elements in Johnnie Walker Black Label as “smoke, fresh fruit, rich fruit and creamy vanilla. No one flavour should dominate.” But with four new blends, his brief was to do the opposite. The idea was to pull it apart, focus on one element, and accentuate the regions. This would be an impossible task, considering ground realities and the final decision was to create three Blended Malts for the Islay, Speyside and Highlands regions and a Blended Scotch for the Lowlands, centred around Caol Ila, Cardhu, Clynelish for the Blended Malts and Glenkinchie and Cameronbridge distilleries for the Blended Scotch. The hardest one to get right was the Highland because of the sheer variety of styles and complexity in the region.

Jim Beveridge said that the modern generation is more interested in the end result and time is only relative. The right taste at the right price and damn the brand. Very true, considering the numerous new distilleries that are opening now. More and more people are interested in flavour, they are increasingly very open-minded. Knowledge is the new currency. Diageo aims at Johnnie Walker drinkers and people wanting to know more about Scotch. In the past, blends tended to be secretive. Now the story is opening up.

The Origin series encourages traffic between blended and malt whisky customers, but the team at Diageo also sees them as breaking down barriers in other ways. These are meant to be as happy mixed in cocktails as in dram form. To prove the point, a series of cocktails were made by their bartender Joey Medrington: the Islay in a Highball with Fever Tree orange and ginger; the Highland in a Rob Roy made with PX sherry, the Lowland in an Old Fashioned with honey syrup, and the Speyside in another long drink with elderflower and soda water. The Islay Highball was breathtaking, but it’s the Lowland with its creamy profile that is particularly cocktail-friendly.

All four whiskies are 12 years old and bottled at 42% ABV. They are great tasting whiskies, and a testament not only to the skill of the blenders at Johnnie Walker but the amazing palates they have to play with. The best thing about them is the price: they will sit just above standard Black Label.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Lowlands Origin Blended Scotch has a sweet, creamy vanilla character and notes of toffee. It is made exclusively from a variety of single malt and grain whiskies from the Lowlands including Glenkinchie and Cameronbridge.

Colour: Honey.

On the nose: It’s a bit hot with a semi-coarse texture. But they go away the longer the whisky sits in the glass. Scents of honey, toffee, some sort of apple-flavoured candy with apricots and marzipan. At the end are lasting scents of butterscotch and caramel.

In the mouth: A bit of chocolate raisins and prunes which are coated by a pepperiness. There’s that caramelized apple flavour again, only the caramel is bolder and more layered.

The Lowland Origin is sweet and simple. Reserve it to enjoy when you’re having a lazy day and just want something simple and easy to drink.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Speyside Origin is a light and fruity whisky with hints of cut green apples and orchard fruit. It is made exclusively from quality single malts from the Speyside region of Scotland, with whisky from the distilleries of Cardhu and Glendullan at its heart.

Colour: Honey.

On the nose: Tropical fruit notes with confectionery and a bit of heat. I get bold scents of peppers, cantaloupe, winter melon tea, toffee and barley tea. There are undertones of butterscotch, clementines, lemon peel, dried apricots and tobacco. At the end are more subtle but lasting scents of thyme and star fruit.

In the mouth: A layered wave of rushing star-fruits, peppers, cloves, tannins with butterscotch and honey to start. I get some sort of floral yet bitter note which makes me think of hibiscus tea and yellow bell peppers. At the end are more pepperiness followed by tastes of almond nuts, and cloves. There’s a quick flash of not unpleasant sulfur. Undertones of cloves, caramel, butterscotch and dried apricots appear at the end. A sneaky Milky Way chocolate bar-like flavour pops up the very end.

This Speyside Origin has more layers and complexity to it. But with the complexity comes some off note and off-note flavor combinations like the heat, yellow bell peppers and cloves with the confectionaries.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Islay Origin is the most succinct of the Origins series. With its maritime bouquet, it stands for the rough Islay region through and through. In terms of taste, it is mildly spicy but has a clear smoke aroma, as one is used to from the whisky region. The heart of every Islay whisky lover beats faster here, but it is also ideal for those who want to get to grips with this maritime smokiness. This blend is for people who want to explore Scotch whiskies with warming, maritime smokiness. This whisky is crafted exclusively from a variety of quality single malts from Islay, focussing on the distilleries of Lagavulin and Caol Ila.

Colour: Pale Gold

On the nose: Notes of sweet peat and bonfire embers with a slight spice. Iodine paired with toffee and delicious sweet orange. The peated character of Caol Ila wafts through, whereas the smoke of Lagavulin swirls around the nostrils.

In the mouth: Like all Johnnie Walker whiskies, this is best enjoyed however you see fit. It is a perfectly balanced 12-year-old Scotch whisky is best served straight for the flavour and first sip, after which a teaspoonful of water will release the whisky’s full maritime smokiness. The briny taste is unmistakeable, an undercurrent of rock salt around your tongue. Ashy, with the marine soul balanced by citrus and cloves. Spicy with pepper in the foreground, followed by delicious sweet notes of dried fruit, red fruit dipped in honey. Smoke is certainly present, but not too strongly so as to overwhelm the palate.

A long, lingering smoky finish and soft notes bloom from toffee.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Highland Origin: Of the four Johnnie Walker Black Label Origin Series bottling, the hardest one to get right is the Highland because of the sheer variety of styles in the region, from Clynelish Distillery to Dalwhinnie to Blair Athol to Glen Ord to Teaninich among others. Teaninich is one of the larger distilleries in Diageo’s portfolio but without much recognition.

A lot of expansion has taken place there. The end result is an expected annual capacity of nearly 10 million litres which is a phenomenal amount for a distillery that remains largely unknown. There is talk of a separate distillery appearing on the extensive site to further increase production. It’s Diageo’s policy to let every distillery have its own release, if not with a proper distillery label than as part of the Flora & Fauna range.

Clynelish has that waxy quality that many are addicted to and it is certainly present. Perhaps not so much in the independent releases. The distillery has an ability, an umami ability to produce something tasty that unites many. It is far from simplistic. So many complex layers on the nose and palate.

The Highland Origin is made for people looking to explore Scotch whiskies with a rich and dark fruitiness and red berry and stone fruit notes. It is crafted exclusively from Highland’s single malts, with Clynelish and Teaninich whisky at its core. The malt whiskies have been blended well, but the discerning nose and plate will recognise the individual characteristics.

On the nose: At the start one gets an aroma of sweet, rich/dried fruit notes (fruit cake), waxy and soft spice notes. Quite fragrant with fruit and a greenness. Notes of cut hay and chamomile, hints of wood resins and potpourri with a little winter spice and a gentle citric acidity.

In the mouth: Mainly aged in European oak ex-sherry casks. On tasting one gets rich flavour of dried fruits, slight warm peppery spice. Fruit cake, marmalade and fresh wine notes, takes on some tobacco with time. Very fruity, with a winey tang to it like a Cognac.

Finish: Marzipan and dried apricot. Some notes of laurel leaves, olive oil, orange zest and rice. A touch of nutmeg, but mainly pepper, a bit nutty maybe pecan.

A complex blend, it has prominent notes of orange rind, marmalade and honey; it takes a moment or two to settle with and has a long, soft spice finish. 

I might as well add the 2018 edition of Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish here, for want of a more appropriate space. It doesn't command a blog of its own.

JOHNNIE WALKER BLACK LABEL SHERRY FINISH

The Black Label Sherry Edition explores a new style of Black Label. It's a whisky with all the quality of Black Label 12 Years Old with a special twist - part of the blend is matured in former Sherry casks, giving the whisky a richer fruitiness. Complex fresh fruit with orchard fruitiness, sweet vanilla and gentle smoke.

Whisky’s marketing and messages follows the same trends as fashion cycles and if you’ve been in this caper long enough, you notice whisky doing exactly the same as fashion: The same things keep coming back, just with a slightly different twist.

The current trend getting a re-work is the focus on sherry maturation.  After many years of extolling the virtues of the bourbon cask (a virtue borne of necessity), the brands are now reminding everyone that sherry-matured whiskies are a vital part of the product’s spectrum.  The difference this time around is that both the landscape and the tools to work with are very different to the era in the early 2000’s when sherried whiskies were a different prospect.

Johnnie Walker Black Label’s Sherry Edition achieves its objective by injecting into the blend a greater proportion of ex-sherry casks.  Interestingly, the official press release makes no mention of finishing, but implies that whiskies that have spent their full lives maturing in ex-sherry butts and hogsheads have been worked into the blend.  Regular Black Label is already a reasonably complex and well-rounded blend as is, but the Sherry Edition also makes use of malt from Blair Athol, Cardhu and Strathmill to enhance the blend’s flavour profile – specifically looking for fresh orchard fruits, sweet vanilla, and some gentle smoke.

Colour:  For what it’s worth, the Sherry Edition is a tiny shade darker (a slightly more auburn tinge) than the regular Black Label, but it’s hard to make anything meaningful of this.

On the nose:  The Sherry Edition has a distinctive high note of fruit – particularly red currants.  There’s also some wood resin, a touch more spice (cinnamon and star anise), and raspberries.

In the mouth: The palate of the Sherry Edition definitely reflects some sherry influence, although nowhere near a Glendronach or Glenfarclas!  The palate is drier, there’s a touch of tannins and drier oak, and the dial is turned up slightly on those spices.  There’s some white pepper in the mix, oak-driven vanilla, and a slight spike of barley malt.

Finish:  The finish is spicier, with a wee bit of heat and an ashy dryness that lingers a little longer.

The Sherry Edition’s distinction and differences from the regular Black Label are subtle. In itself, the Sherry Edition is a perfectly good and acceptable blend, but it doesn’t scream sherry.  There’s no real overt oloroso to be found, leading this palate to suspect that fino is the prime contributor. The whisky is drier and spicier and works well as an interesting, 12 year old deluxe blend.