So I discovered the other night that the Temple Bar on Mass Ave stocks Green Label and I had wanted to give that one another spin before giving a final opinion. I should say that I came to scotch drinking only a few years ago after passing through a bourbon stage and a rye whiskey stage. If you’ve read my earlier posting about sampling, then you know how I went about finding which scotch I enjoy and that I do enjoy Dalwhinnie single malt.
At the recent Johnnie Walker tasting, I was excited to get a chance to sample the Green Label. I will say that unfortunately the Green Label was my smallest taste and so I felt that I didn’t have enough to make my definitive decisions that night. I’ve visited a few places since then trying to find someone who stocked it in my area and was glad when I stopped into the Temple Bar to find it. At $9 a snort, it wasn’t bad as far as TB’s prices go (I had one of Baker’s for $8.50). I had one on the rocks and then another straight up—I was willing to spend more to make my decision.
While I think that this blend can ease one into single malts, I don’t think it works the other way. Some of the subtleties of the single malt flavor seemed to be blunted. The stronger smokier flavors came through stronger. I enjoyed the nose of Green Label but felt the flavor didn’t quite live up to that promise. In this way, I would have preferred just to have the JW workhorse of Black Label if I were going to have a blended whisky or just a single malt.
At $60 a bottle, I also feel the offering a bit over priced. Its quality is high, but I feel that dollar for dollar there are other scotches that offer more in terms of flavor and layering. I wouldn’t necessarily stock it at home, but if I were in the mood, I wouldn’t blink at paying $9 for a snort at the Temple Bar.
So Upon Further Review, the ruling on the field stands.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
I'm a sucker for awards
So there are World Whiskies Awards here on the Whisky Magazine webpage. Also has a number of helpful rankings.
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Johnnie Walker—it’s a lot of work
If you’ve never attended a Johnnie Walker event, you should if you get the chance. I did over the weekend and while some of the others around me complained a little, it’s a free event and you get a chance to try all five of the core lines. You sign up at the website and you get invites to these events.
Listening to others around me who had attended these events before, this was pretty typical. A small reception with a free drink and a few appetizers followed by a multi-media presentation and the sampling. It’s not a lot of scotch, but you get a taste.
It was interesting to see how they recommended you drink their products and it was interesting to get that chance other than reading it in some brochure. Some of the folks I sat near were confused about the order of the labels, but that was understandable. So here are the notes and what I thought.
Red Label: This was the first Johnnie Walker I ever tried way back in the day, and have to say I wasn’t crazy about it then. What I was told on Friday was that this was designed as a mixing blend, which when you’re 18 you’d probably wouldn’t know anyhow. At the tasting they had a little ginger ale and Coke and you could which to mix it with (and they really wanted you to do that). I’m not a big mixed drink kind of guy (I do have the occasional martini or manhattan, but I don’t usually go out and have a cocktail), but mixed with a little Coke it was fine.
Black Label: This was presented as the closest to the original and as the workhorse. They had us try this one first and it did sent a very good baseline. I prefer my scotch neat, and this was very nice. As we all know, Black is a blend of 40 odd whiskies at a minimum age of 12 years. For my money, I think Black label is the best value dollar for dollar amongst their lines.
Green Label: I hadn’t tried Green before and was curious. They suggested drinking it with an ice cube to slightly chill the scotch. Originally called Pure Malt, this is a blend of 15 year old single malts all with a minimum being 15 years old. As someone who prefers single malts, I was sort of confused by this one. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t distinguish itself either. I found it to be a muddle of familiar tastes and I could identify some of the characteristics of its parents, but felt I wish one of them would have discriminated itself. Not bad, but I would still prefer my Dalwhinnie if I’m going to spend $59 - $62 on a bottle.
Gold Label: They presented this one as the champagne of whisky. They suggested it be frozen for 24 hours prior to drinking and ours was given to us still frosty and cold. Smoother than Black. Maybe not a bad deal at $65 (Broadway Market). A special occasion kind of drink, and definitely one I would dishonor by mixing with something else.
Blue Label: Okay, so this was the reason so many showed up (other than the promise of free booze). We all know about this $30 drink. Their suggestion is to take a sip of ice water before drinking it in order to cool your mouth down a little. The event was my third opportunity to sample Blue Label. It’s good. There’s no arguing that, but my thing has always been, is it $250 a bottle good? In general, I would say “no.” I’ve had a lot of different scotches, blended and single malts, and Blue Label is certainly up there, but again, on a dollar for dollar basis, I think it’s more the prestige rather than the product. You’re spending for the occasion. This isn’t to say that I would ever turn down a drink of this fine blend, but if I’m paying, I’m probably going for a good single malt which is my personal preference anyway.
So, if you get a chance to go to a Johnnie Walker event, by all means do so. It's a wonderful and educational experience. And there is a little bit of free booze to start you off on a Friday night. Plus, I got a lapel pin out of it.
Listening to others around me who had attended these events before, this was pretty typical. A small reception with a free drink and a few appetizers followed by a multi-media presentation and the sampling. It’s not a lot of scotch, but you get a taste.
It was interesting to see how they recommended you drink their products and it was interesting to get that chance other than reading it in some brochure. Some of the folks I sat near were confused about the order of the labels, but that was understandable. So here are the notes and what I thought.
Red Label: This was the first Johnnie Walker I ever tried way back in the day, and have to say I wasn’t crazy about it then. What I was told on Friday was that this was designed as a mixing blend, which when you’re 18 you’d probably wouldn’t know anyhow. At the tasting they had a little ginger ale and Coke and you could which to mix it with (and they really wanted you to do that). I’m not a big mixed drink kind of guy (I do have the occasional martini or manhattan, but I don’t usually go out and have a cocktail), but mixed with a little Coke it was fine.
Black Label: This was presented as the closest to the original and as the workhorse. They had us try this one first and it did sent a very good baseline. I prefer my scotch neat, and this was very nice. As we all know, Black is a blend of 40 odd whiskies at a minimum age of 12 years. For my money, I think Black label is the best value dollar for dollar amongst their lines.
Green Label: I hadn’t tried Green before and was curious. They suggested drinking it with an ice cube to slightly chill the scotch. Originally called Pure Malt, this is a blend of 15 year old single malts all with a minimum being 15 years old. As someone who prefers single malts, I was sort of confused by this one. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t distinguish itself either. I found it to be a muddle of familiar tastes and I could identify some of the characteristics of its parents, but felt I wish one of them would have discriminated itself. Not bad, but I would still prefer my Dalwhinnie if I’m going to spend $59 - $62 on a bottle.
Gold Label: They presented this one as the champagne of whisky. They suggested it be frozen for 24 hours prior to drinking and ours was given to us still frosty and cold. Smoother than Black. Maybe not a bad deal at $65 (Broadway Market). A special occasion kind of drink, and definitely one I would dishonor by mixing with something else.
Blue Label: Okay, so this was the reason so many showed up (other than the promise of free booze). We all know about this $30 drink. Their suggestion is to take a sip of ice water before drinking it in order to cool your mouth down a little. The event was my third opportunity to sample Blue Label. It’s good. There’s no arguing that, but my thing has always been, is it $250 a bottle good? In general, I would say “no.” I’ve had a lot of different scotches, blended and single malts, and Blue Label is certainly up there, but again, on a dollar for dollar basis, I think it’s more the prestige rather than the product. You’re spending for the occasion. This isn’t to say that I would ever turn down a drink of this fine blend, but if I’m paying, I’m probably going for a good single malt which is my personal preference anyway.
So, if you get a chance to go to a Johnnie Walker event, by all means do so. It's a wonderful and educational experience. And there is a little bit of free booze to start you off on a Friday night. Plus, I got a lapel pin out of it.
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Birthday Booze?
My birthday looms large. If I don't decide to jump off a bridge with the number "38" carved on my chest, I'm seriously considering combining a dinner party with a meeting of the society. My tiny little barbarian children have all but destroyed our nice dining table, but it might have one civilized sitdown left in it. I found an excellent recipe for steak with peppercorn sauce that I think I'll serve, and I'm sure I can come up with a whiskey theme to match.
IN THE MEANTIME, my lovely wife has started asking for gift suggestions. I think what I'd like is a good bottle of something. I'm a cheapskate, usually, so this could be an opportunity to stock up on some halfway decent hooch. I'm considering asking for a bottle of Lucid absinthe, or maybe some of that Old Portrero rye of Daryl's that we all liked so much. I'm totally ignorant of scotch, so I wouldn't even know where to begin (Laphroaig, maybe? Everyone seems to like that).
Anyone have any suggestions for something in the $75-100 price range I can make my baby buy me?
IN THE MEANTIME, my lovely wife has started asking for gift suggestions. I think what I'd like is a good bottle of something. I'm a cheapskate, usually, so this could be an opportunity to stock up on some halfway decent hooch. I'm considering asking for a bottle of Lucid absinthe, or maybe some of that Old Portrero rye of Daryl's that we all liked so much. I'm totally ignorant of scotch, so I wouldn't even know where to begin (Laphroaig, maybe? Everyone seems to like that).
Anyone have any suggestions for something in the $75-100 price range I can make my baby buy me?
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Travel
While I have to say that some of my past preference for bourbon had something to do with a girl from Kentucky I used to have thing for, time has not dulled my taste for that wonder that is bourbon. Checking my e-mail today, I saw this NYT article about blugrass and bourbon. Happy reading.
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