Johnnie Walker Black Label

Core Malts- Cardhu (Speyside), Talisker (Islands/Skye), Caol Ila (Islay. Not sure how central this malt is within the blend over the past few years, but certainly in there in some capacity)

A Worthy Staple
Johnnie Walker Black Label is a 12 year old blended Scotch whisky that is without a doubt one of Diageo's pride and joys. The whisky is a blend of 40-some malts and grain whiskies with Talisker sitting as a key malt. I hear there is a fair bit of Cardhu (a Speysider) in there as well. I'd imagine there is in some kind of significant capacity the other JW staples; Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila. I'm not going to wax poetic about the blend's or company history, because heck, this is the internet. Also, I'm quite lazy.

Black label is enormously popular in parts of West Asia as well as the Far East (pardon my western-centric placements). It's a staple in many liquor cabinets by both the occasional nipper and serious enthusiast alike. It's consistency is top-notch, and remarks regarding it's balance have been beaten into the collective whisky psyche to death. Is the blend just as good in 2012 as ever? Or has it gone like the Red Label into highly mediocre-at-best territory? Well, I've got a blog. Hey, tastebuds too! Let's see:

Color
Unless a bottle states that no e150 (caramel coloring) has been added to a whisky, trying to determine anything about the actual nature of a spirit is a bit fruitless based on color. Johnnie Walker Black label certainly contains caramel coloring. The handiwork done in the recipe and the blending is masterful enough that it does not seemingly inhibit the performance and delivery of the whisky. Color is not something I'm going to be remarking on much, if at all, in the future. I find it a bit noteworthy to remark about here, however, as this is a whisky with the colorant in significant volume, but none of the real apparent signs that such has damaged intrinsic quality.

Nose
It's been nearly two years since my last sampling of Black Label. It indeed seems that the nicely rich, cinnamon and caramel-tinged malt background is present, along with small whiffs of sea air and subtle peat. There is a bit of butterscotch and perhaps, perhaps, green apples as well. I don't really ever hear the word "sherry" used when referring to this blend, but I get a modest sensation of it when nosing this.

Palate
Creamy vanilla, mouth watering and chewy slightly sherry-tinged malt, burnt toast. A little peat and smoke developing. Warm oaky spice.

Finish
Lingers well enough for a blend, providing wood spice, slight peat, and Talisker-influenced peppercorn. Black Label, my friend, you are delicious!

People always remark about the balance, but hey, it's pretty remarkably true. This is for sure layered whisky. Nice balance between initially moderately sweet desserty malt and smokey, modest peppery goodness.

Gist
I am happy to say that Johnnie Walker Black Label has remained a high quality blend. In recent years it's been steadily climbing in price, but thankfully, it's quality has not been compromised in any real way. I do wish it was somewhat cheaper. As good as it is, it's not a "steal" at the price, but sits on a spectrum of being a "fair" deal. Good to buy on sale, although on my budget, not as often enjoyed as I'd like.

-Yochanan