Johnny Walker Black Label

[OneCubeOnly]

I've read that it is Cardhu.

I'm actually more inclined to believe it's Cardhu, especially after the whole relabeling/departure from "single malt" debacle that Cardhu had. Actually if you look here, you'll see Paul Pacult seems to believe Talisker is a major player. Also, check out this site which also lists Talisker.

I really don't know...I've seen different writeups.

[greenbob]

One Cube,

I found your websites interesting. I'm a very big Talisker fan. Talisker and Springbank are my favorite single malts. I would never have thought that JWBlack had Talisker. I've read on the Johnny Walker website that JWRed has Talisker, and that is more believable. But JWBlack seems to try to emulate the Speyside/Sherry style of Scotch. So I am very surprised.

And there was another little gem in your first website. Michael Jackson uses the word "Marijuana" to describe the palate. That's interesting.

[Bamber]

Cardhu, is the main malt in JW Black, although it does seem to contain a fair bit of Talisker. Medicinal flaours come from the malt whisky, when the malted barley is dried over peat. Grain tends to add vanilla and a harder, sharper edge, to blends.

[chasking]

Last year I went to a tasting hosted by Johnnie Walker where they offered tastes of several of the component malts that went into JW Black. The malts: Cardhu, Oban, Talisker, and Lagavulin. My eyebrows raised at the last two, since I don't detect much character of either in JWB, but of course anything tasted after Lagavulin will be weak in comparison. I'll have to try JWB again, in the interest of science.

[Nightcap]

I recall reading somewhere that there are about 40 different malts blended into JW Black, the youngest of them being 12 years old, and some reportedly much older. Man, what I'd give to spend a day with the blenders... that would be an education.

[Nightcap]

... And there was another little gem in your first website. Michael Jackson uses the word "Marijuana" to describe the palate. That's interesting.

Maybe he hadn't cleansed his palate.

[Hedmans Brorsa]

Talisker, and Lagavulin. My eyebrows raised at the last two, since I don't detect much character of either in JWB

Agreed. I bought my first bottle of JWB for many years this spring and I immediately reacted to the absence of the anticipated peat explosion. Maybe these brands are still featured, albeit in reduced quantities.

The over-abundance of liquorice made me think that Glen Rothes plays a big role but I have no evidence for this.

I don´t know about other countries but here in Sweden, before the single malt explosion, JWB was the average drinker´s first choice of premium whisky. Presently, at my local liquor store, it has been reduced to a special-order-only item. The times they are a changin´

[clayton]

Johnny Walker is still extremely popular worldwide.
The sales numbers say so, anyway.

Reuters
Top 10 spirits brands in world
Thursday June 17, 1:12 pm ET

CHICAGO, June 17 (Reuters) - Privately held Bacardi Ltd. is near a deal to buy the Grey Goose high-end vodka business for more than $2 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

The following are the top 10 spirit brands sold worldwide. The brands are ranked by name, type of spirit, the owner, and 2003 estimated retail sales in billons of U.S. dollars.

1. Bacardi Rum, Bacardi Ltd., $2.14
2. Smirnoff Vodka, Diageo Plc. (LondonGE.L - News), $2.13
3. Stolichnaya Vodka, Soyuzplodimport, $2.07
4. Hennessy Cognac, LVMH (Paris:LVMH.PA - News), $1.95
5. Absolut Vodka, Vin & Sprit/Fortune Brands (NYSE:FO - News), $1.52
6. Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey, Brown-Forman Corp. $1.48
7. Johnnie Walker Black Scotch-Whisky, Diageo Plc. (LondonGE.L - News), $1.46
8. Johnnie Walker Red Scotch-Whisky, Diageo Plc. (LondonGE.L - News) , $1.39
9. Baileys Liqueur, Diageo Plc. (LondonGE.L - News), $1.31
10. Ballantine's Scotch Whisky, Allied-Domecq Plc. (London:ALLD.L - News), $1.22

[Gillman]

It is also worth noting, perhaps, that this top ten are all heavy advertisers.

Gary

[voigtman]

Jeff, I have not tried any of the Johnnie Walker varieties yet, but I strongly recommend a bottle of Ardbeg 10 single malt. No sherry, no cloying sweetness, just peat and barley sweetness. I may (depends on money) pick up the sampler pack of Johnnies (200 mL bottles of Red, Black, Gold, and Blue) this Xmas season just to know what these are all about. Maybe a bottle of Johnnie Green "Pure malt" (aka "blended scotch malt whisky") as well. I know when my step-father owned a tavern in New Jersey when I was a hell of a lot younger, he used to give his lawyer a case of Johnnie Black every Christmas, and there were never any legal problems