Johnnie Walker Blue Label Re-Review (Is It worth the hype?)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 16. 02. 2020
- Take a trip back on memory lane as the S4D's re-review Johnnie Walker Blue Label. It's been 4 years and many reviews since then. Have their palates changed? Will it live up to the hype and price tag? Let's find out!
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The price point is super crazy. But it's a damn fine whisky nonetheless.
In my opinion this is a gift whisky. It isn't designed for whisky lovers (hence the 40%, chill filtered, colour). Whilst it's clearly a well made bottle, it's made to appeal to occasional drinkers who won't be put off by paticularly bold flavours.
i agree with this , most people drinking now days are trying to get hammered and dont enjoy what they "waste" money on , this is for people who are actually drinking it to enjoy the drink and are looking for a more relaxed drink with a "premium" feel to it
Except you describe everything wrong with so called whisky lovers, just snobs hitting the same old criticisms on repeat and think they kniw whisky. Ask a real Scottish (master) distiller about yhe obsession on abv for example and theyâll tell you you are full of shite.
Blue Label is a masterpiece, very unique flavour.
Iâm with Shawn on the $100 overpriced.. Great review Gents Iâve the 2-bottles of JW-18 bought them on sale for $48 each and thatâs a great value!!
Had a bottle of this about 5 years ago... it was probably the 3rd or 4th scotch I ever tried. Well before I ever had peat or sherry bombs. It is the most overpriced Scotch I've ever had. I can get "easy to drink" Scotches for 1/4 of the price.
Now the bottle you guys need to try is the Johnny Walker Blue Cask Edition. It's an international edition I believe, got my bottle in Mexico City Airport for $300usd about 6years ago... worth every penny!!! It checks in at 56%abv and is soooooo complex... love it!!! I would pay $320+ for another bottle. I would not pay half the price for the regular Blue. Good review guys, Cheers!!!
BTW, the Cask Edition Blue is 1 liter as opposed to just a 750ml.
Itâs a 40% NAS blended scotch thatâs almost banal IMO. It doesnât take water well. No âwow factorâ for the price. Itâs a smooth sipper and not offensive in anyway, but Iâm with Shawn, there are plenty of scotches for way less $ that Iâd prefer. So why pay $180-200? Itâs for the branding. Kinda like Mac 18 for $300, just nuts. The Green label is a much better value if you must have a JW on the shelf and are tasting the whisky and not the label. đ Cheers!
I.m with you with this one, not worth the money. Nuff said!!!
Green is my go-to JW. I don't bang Blue, though. They use some fairly rare whisky to blend it and from what I understand, it is a 25 year plus Scotch, so I'm sure that it is priced fairly appropriately to the cost and ages of the whiskies involved. The fact that it is light and easy drinking may turn some people off, but, on the right occasion it is a nice choice.
jw black label handle ftw
Great Video guy's! Quick question? You guy's never did the Dalmore Comparison...unless the video was taken down?
Really looking forward to how the King stands up against its counter parts.
Also, for discussion...The King or Macallan 6???
I think it's a closer call between the two when the bottle of King is not oxidized! But, that Mac was DAMN good, so I think it get's the nod every time.... ~Mark
First, thanks the review. I don't believe it is something I would want especially because of the price (ranges from $190 to $399 around me and suggest some price gouging). I watched a few other reviews including Ralph's one 8 years ago (interesting that his was 43%) and the general opinion is that is blended for mass appeal and from your review it's nice to try but there may be others things to look at. However, I do notice that this is available in 50 ml ($20) and 200 ml ($50) bottles which might be better for those who want to try it.
I would like to see what you guys think of the ghost and rare versions (3) of them that are out there
I had a double of this at a work dinner not to long ago and my impression was that it was easy to drink with a very nice aroma and flavor but not exceptional enough to warrant the price premium.
Thanks guys! This is $305 CAD where Iâm at. I think itâs kinda criminal that they donât give you at least 43% a.b.v. at this crazy price point.
The Whisky Explorer are you serious? I just bought this last week from Costco in California for 140$. For what I paid itâs good choice.
hooman irani Ya, Iâm serious. Think about what else you can get at that price point. At 40% a.b.v. JWB is not complex and way overpriced. Itâs also chill-filtered and coloured. Itâs fine if youâre just after the name or want a prestige looking bottle to put on your shelf, but there are much better bang-for-buck options out there. $140 is a great price for blue. As I mentioned, we pay $305 CAD ($230 USD) here. Not worth it imho.
The Whisky Explorer Agreed, No way I pay that much for Blue label. Iâve already tried many different whiskies in this price range I wanted to try blue label too, I think itâs okay but next time Iâd go with single malt for sure.
hooman irani good call man. I can see pulling the trigger at the price you paid. I would have to seriously consider it if I could get it at that price. Enjoy the journey brother and check out my channel if you like đđ„đ
I can buy two Elijah craig barrel proof for the price of one JWB. ECBP, is simply delicious!
Could you guys re-review JW 15 Green? I bought a 2019 bottle last month and it was completely different than online reviews said it would be and what I expected after trying the JW Island Green. I was able to find one review that compared the 2019 to a bottle of 2017 and they were different! Thanks guys, keep up the good work.
Interesting! ~Mark
JW Green đesp for the price
Very good review, while I do enjoy the Blue on occasion for the price I prefer the Green. Though I'm really more of a single malt person most the time or a Bourbon person. Your review was quite spot on and advice quite good at least from my experience.
Iâm with Shawn on this one. The price is a big factor in the score. Itâs a good blend but not for 200. I actually got mine in Saint Maarten for 125 USD. Thatâs the best price Iâve seen anywhere. So if you happen to ever go there, thatâs the place to buy it. And that price was pretty consistent all over the island, not just one particular liquor store.
I think the beauty of the blue is the fact that it's super light and tasty. It's not something I'd pair with a cigar, or as a digestivo, but I'd definitely drink this as an apertivo or if I'm just sitting and relaxing, watching a movie. It's probably overpriced, but it's definitely a high quality scotch. For the best all around value, I like the green.
I Still got a bottle of Johnny Walker Blue 1974 vintage sealed in the safe! Waiting for that special occasion when I win the Powerball ! I also love â€ïž the GREEN !
JW Blue didnât exist before 1992âŠI hope you didnât pay much for that 1974 đ âŠđ„đ„
I enjoy a dram of Blue now and then when I'm out. I don't have it at my bar, but I do have Green and Black. From what I have found out, it is a 25 year old plus Scotch. Either way, I like it and would probably give it a 3.5. This would be a nice Scotch to sit down and read a book or watch a movie with. Sometimes you just want a nice, high quality Scotch that is easy to drink and I think this is just right for that.
I look at it this way. Would I rather have a Deanston 12 or, say, an Old Pulteney 12 over this? The answer is yes, and I can buy both bottles and still have enough money to go to dinner. It's not bad at all. For a basic, silky scotch, though, it is outrageously priced. Its a nice $40 whisky.
Can we have a 'It's not my wheel house' free episode now and then?
Compare it to Double Black. To me I get similar floral note similar to a light fabuloso smell. The smoke is when you done with a BBQ and you hit the charcoal with the water hose. I believe the smoke comes from Lagavulin since they use peat from the closed Port Ellen distillery
@Jason Voorheese Fabuloso is a cleaning product. It comes with different smells. There is a green one that smells like apples just like the Crown Royal Apple and there is a purple one that smells like flowers. Fabuloso is comenly sold at Home Depot and Walmart
Solid discussion. I would definitely never turn my nose up at this one if I was offered a glass. But I also would not buy a bottle - I agree with Shawn - there are a ton of things in that price range I'd rather have, and you're looking at $100 inflated due to the (very successful) marketing around this as a luxury whisky. You're right, it is smooth as silk. I feel like it's designed so that even non whisky drinkers will enjoy it. And there's nothing wrong with that.
At the same price as Johnnie Walker Blue, what would you recommend then? Not more expensive and not less expensive, but at the same price - what do you believe is a great Whisky / Whiskey?
A few years ago you guys gave this a 3.5 total. Did JW change the recipe?
I myself also just purchase my 2nd bottle and noticed right away that it had more Peat\Smoke than I remember the 1st bottle did years ago.
How can we find out for sure?
I don't think it changed as much as we changed! Now to be fair, there is no way they can produce the exact liquid time and time again, although blending does tend to have better chances of that level of consistency. It truly does come down to the master blender, so there is going to be some "range" of variance. But, I don't think to the point that we all notice something drastically or even negligibly! The easier fact is that our palates vary and change over time and especially when you're really sampling and drinking a lot of scotch....so I think we changed more so on this one. ~Mark
Just the other night I put some JW Blue Label us against some JW Gold Label and some Buchanan's 12, head to head to head,..... and the JWBL didn't even come close to justifying the cost... in my opinion.
Buck's 12 for the win.
Personally, I would take the Gold 18-year-old (now the platinum) over this and keep the extra 80 plus dollars in my pocket. I have btw two bottles of blue seating in my bar unopened. One I bought (actually I bought two at duty-free in Cancun 5 years ago, drank one) and the other was a gift.
I got a 200ml bottle of this in a sampler pack and my brother who hates whiskey said that this tasted good and the gold reserve.
Truly Johnny walker black is one of my favorites.. very smooth great flavors and amazing notes. But I still have not tried the blue
Love the Blue Label !
I agree itâs a smooth and tasty. But for me this needs more complexity higher ABV, longer finish and or lower the price. To me my money is better spent on the 18 year. But in reality itâs mainly the price that doesnât do it justice.
Far to low at 40abv
Ladies, what do you think about a whiskey decanter at 375ml or even smaller? When the bottle gets under 1/2, put it in a smaller bottle to keep air away from it.
Good idea, have u tested it yet?
Ok so what gets a solid 4? In this category. What is the benchmark?
does all blue has same taste regardless of what special edition they released like the ghost, year of the rat.. etc?
This is my first ever scotch i spent $30 on a glass and my second glass ever of scotch is going to be the dalmore 12 year. I haven't tasted it yet, but would you say that is a good choice for my second glass?
Shawn
Welcome to the journey! You went big for your first glass. Dalmore 12 will be very different but still an easy to drink dram. I think itâs a good choice for your second try and will show you some very different flavors. Enjoy it!
-Shawn
@@Scotch4Dummies so I tried the dalmore, I get a carmel smell to it. But upon tasting it I can't seem to get past the burn. I'm getting a Norlan whiskey glass here soon also but other than that its hard to taste the flavor is there different scotch out there that has a better taste or does that change with more pricy the bottle? Like are bottles over 100 the best way to go?
@@screamingeagles101 I would recommend a glenfarclas 10 and 12 for entries into Sherry cask whiskeys. 15 is a real sweet spot for this distillery. The 10,12 and 15 have excellent price points.
Guys, you gotta line all 7 bottles from tallest to the smallest for proper proximity to the " ghost "...sipping from the tallest to the smallest is how you experience the genie in the bottle. Bottoms up, happy New Year !
It's worth the hype - because the hype costs nothing... the price is another matter entirely. It's a competent, even nice, whisky but the Quality/Price Ratio is very low. If you're not doing better at this price level, either you're not really trying or just want to impress other people with what you're drinking.
Very good scotch, that being said I prefer double black
I've never tried this and probably never will. I'm not going to dish out that type of money for a Scotch that doesn't blow people away. There are so many quality single malts that are a fraction of the price. I'm sure it tastes good, but from what I'm hearing it isn't worth the price. I can get 6 or 7 bottles of Aberfeldy or 3 Ardbegs for that price!!!
Fair enough!
In preparation for watching this is re-watched the gentleman's wager commercials done for this they are as enjoyable as this bottle. I agree with the total score of 2.875, solid pour but at 200 plus per bottle I'm not buying it. That is my only complaint about it, would definitely not turn my nose up at it if given to me
I remember the old ads "Please don't make this your first bottle of scotch" And yeah, it's decent, but way overpriced for what it is.
I can think of about 20 scotches in the $200 range that have higher ABV, NCF, with age statements that offer complexity, depth, and long finishes. Sure the whisky is innocuous, is that something to be celebrated? You can make any whisky innocuous by adding ice or water. If I spend $200 on a whisky, it better well better have complimentary flavors that are deep and rich with a long finish. If you like Malt the OP 17 and the Deanston range offer much more malt forward IMHO for a fraction of the price. I am sorry this is a "look at me bottle, I am special and trying to impress you." If I wanted a new scotch drinker to be introduced into a nice and non-challenging whisky but has some depth and character I would save $150 and share some Balvenie 12 Doublewood, and I think they would appreciate more. If price is a consideration, than this is rated 1.5 for me.
For comparison purposes found a review on Malt on the JW Lineup. malt-review.com/2019/08/30/johnnie-walker-discover/
glenfarclas 21
This is the typical Whiskey snob response. This is a look at me whiskey post kinda like you think blue label is a look at me bottle
Not about putting your nose up to Blue Label, but value vs quality, there is a whole lot out there much better at the same if not cheaper price. Every time I see a Blue Label, I think to myself, âshowboater, with little to no whisky experienceâ.
JW Blue is definetly one of, if not the best blend out there. Mark my words!
Yea my man blue is the best!!! I have a bottle unfortunately I don't drink it very often because of the price so I keep black on hand to drink and the blue is more of a special occasion
Seriously!!! I dunno what these bozos sayin overpriced⊠make more money is what I say~ đ One of the best right here! The definition of SMOOTH.
@@trackpackgt877 I didn't see. the msg till noe but yeah it is fucking realvâ
IMO: Bold flavoured whisky is often unbalanced and looses complexity. JW Blue is the opposite and it's not easy to find a much better replacement. It's clearly better than Gold Reserve and Platinum/18, but the old gold 18 is better than the new precious metals and was a really great buy.
What about for $168 US? Best deal Iâve been able to find
I just got a bottle for $155
everyone talks about Johnnie walker and macallan whiskeys but bells whiskey beats all of them. Sorry did I say beats I meant krushes bells is better then johnnie walker blue and macallan 25
Blue label Limited Edition year of the rat is available for under 200.00 at 46 ABV. The 40 ABV is too bland.
It was an exceptionally balanced and smooth whisky long before the vast array of bold and flavorful whiskies we have as options nowadays came into the picture. It's always done what it was meant to do.
The Cask Strength Blue Label is phenomenal, the 40% version ....blah
Such difficulty using precisely the same word 99% of humanity would use to describe it; It's smooth, join us mere mortals and say it, it's smooth :D
Ron White owns Number Juan Tequila. Hasnt drank whiskey/scotch in years.
well ain't that some sh*t!! Tat'er Salad!!!! ~Mark
I never rated blue but I've tasted red.
It's very good but in my opinion, the johnny 18 or lagavulin 16 are much better for half the price
Pardon my Scotch ignorance, have you all done an episode for real dummies? Meaning to explain some of the basic terminology such as flavor profiles of different barrels, some of the different blending s and why? Some of the terms bandied about like Solera, some filtering process term. Anything that can assist someone likes me that wants to educate my self on the spirit. Cheers! Hopefully youâve already done videos similar? Also, how the spirits are consumed, rock, water, or neat and why?
First, great comment/question. We have touched on many (if not all) of these topics/questions over the years, but not all in one specific video. Maybe that's in our future. If you want more "community" to learn from get on our Discord server (link in the video descriptions). There are tons of people always conversing about scotch and whisky in general.... you'll get more information than you know what to do with. One warning, you'll become a scotch head and realize you need a second job and a backup liver...haha! ~Mark
When I lived in Indiana it cost $200. When I lived in NY it cost $450. Easy to say New York had a bit of a mark up
Ratings should be based on the quality, independent of price. You can score value separately from quality. thanks
Got a free sample of this at Sams club today. Taste fine but not worth $200 đ
The overall opinion of JW Blue.. it's overpriced, but great.
It comes down to what you can afford and if you prefer smooth or a blast to the palate.
This one is very unique, it's hard to describe the Blue.. it's that good of a blend.
Very well done and professional check out Gentlemen.
Is it possible to give you a "TIP Bottle" due to this one?
It's more than half the price and even the better Blend.
Are you interested?
Always interested in scotch! ;-) email us, scotch4dummies@gmail.com ~Mark
Oi adorei o canal de vc nĂŁo falo inglĂȘs mas vcs faz um favor coloca uma legenda na conversa de vocĂȘs pra eu entender pode ser em espanhol
The XR21 surpasses it
Way overpriced for what this offering gives you
palates changed and evolved to allow u too pull more out of it. Scotland 2020
No, the 40% version is not worth the hype. Special editions, on the other hand, like the Ghost & Rare Brora, oh yes...well worth it.
Happy to drink this one if someone else is paying. :)
Sorry guys, i have to disagree. Blue Label is subjective, yes, but imo it is complex smooth, and all that i like in a bottle of Scotch. 5/5 worth it.
Never apologize for a disagreeing opinion, we love ya' for it! ~Mark
@@Scotch4Dummies Thanks Mark, good on ya. I luv the Highland Park Viking Tribe...can't remember if you have it in the states, will look to see if you have reviewed it, and any other HPark. great price and volume as well. đ
This is still Whisky Advocate's highest rated scotch. Which is, suspicious.
đ
Interesting with the orange. I was at a restaurant a few years ago and they went around the rim of the glass with a orange peal.
Its worth no more than 80 dollars. Nice but underwhelming. That said very good for non whisky drinkers.
Flagship blend from the most popular distillery in the world and youâre all complaining about $160âŠ
Aww blokes; Iâm salivating. But I gotta weep âcos @ the current exchange rate, ur lookinâ AUD $300-330 2022 dollars
There are much better malts and blends than than JW Blue! Quality blends and malts DO NOT COME CHEAP OR AFFORDABLE. Chivas 18, Royal Salute 21, JW 21 XR, and Glenmorangie 18 are far superior Whiskeys, than JW Blue! Dewars 18 and JW 18 are decent but not great. The Blue has a over grainy watered down feel. The Royal Salute 21 may be stronger in taste, and thats due to it's malt tilt over the grain. JW 21 may not have the floral fruit favors as the R.S. 21, but the reaction of your first sip must be recorded! A one of a lifetime first sip of a Whiskey! The Glenmorangie 18 has a refreshing floral fruit almond vanilla chocolate taste with not a single amount of burn on the palate. Chivas 18 to me, is for beginners, but i would never turn down a shot...
Not IMO. Chivas 18 is better than Royal Salute (oddly), but Blue is better than both. Dunno about JW 21 and Glenmorangie 18.
@@kimpoulsen6623 Every 5 to 7 years, the batch quality differs. Have not had Blue Label in three years. For a fruity aged malt, Glenmorangie 18 is a good one. Just had the Glen Grant 18 the other day, and i was not that impressed. Too young and fresh tasting for an 18 YO,
I would rather drink Glendronach 18...or 15 over JW blue ...ALLLLLLL day long
not worth the money you pay. any single bottle single malt whisky is better. i had a few bottle of those long time when it fiirst came out. they were good but not great. the ones you can buy now taste like s-t.
Johnnie Walker blue label is the worst tasting scotch whiskey I've ever tasted, Canadian Mist is a much better tasting liquid đđ đ
Over priced for what it is.
Or your just poor
Overpriced overpriced overpriced
Itâs garbage.
Overrated and overpriced.