Johnny Walker Black Label

[jeff]

Had my first sample of this a couple days ago at a bar in the Hilton where we were staying in Orlando. Can you believe there was not a single bourbon to be found at this bar , though when I asked, I was shown the full line of Jack Daniels that they carried

Overall I found this to be a nice drink. Smooth and oily with hints of green tea and anise. There was a slightly medicinal "camphory" taste that was unusual, though not alltogether unpleasant. I might pick up a bottle sometime and explore it further, or I might not Anyone want to share their experiences with JWB?

P.S. Better than Dickle

[Bob]

Anyone want to share their experiences with JWB?

P.S. Better than Dickle

Jeff,

I am of the opposite opinion regarding Dickle/Walker. I do enjoy the George Dickle Number 12 quite a bit, and have never noticed the "vitamin" flavors, or other "off" flavors that many have observed and noted. To me, Dickle is THE Tennessee whisky. Regarding Johnnie Walker Black, I just do not enjoy blends any more. I prefer exploring the complexities that I find in the Single Malts, similiar to our discussing flavor profiles of our favorite Bourbons.

Bob

[OneCubeOnly]

Jeff--that medicinal/camphor-type taste is the grain whiskey component of blends. The main malt in JWB is Talisker, so if you want the awesome malt character without the graininess, try that.

[tdelling]

>...that medicinal/camphor-type taste is the grain whiskey component of blends.

Or perhaps the medicinal/camphor notes are from the peat smoke in
the Talisker...


Tim

[jeff]

Or perhaps the medicinal/camphor notes are from the peat smoke in the Talisker...

That is what I suspected. While I have not had much experience with Scotch, this is a subtle taste that seems to run common through all I have tried, even the single malts.

[OneCubeOnly]

Or perhaps the medicinal/camphor notes are from the peat smoke in the Talisker...

That is what I suspected. While I have not had much experience with Scotch, this is a subtle taste that seems to run common through all I have tried, even the single malts.

I'm really surprised you agree with that! I figured your experienced palate would know the difference! Actually, there's a real simple test to see if you're tasting the grain vs. the peat smoke: try some Irish whiskey--preferably a bold one like Jameson 1780 and see if you taste it.

[jeff]

I'm really surprised you agree with that! I figured your experienced palate would know the difference!

I claim absolutely no palate experience with scotch whatsoever. It tastes nothing like bourbon to me, so I can only go by what limited experience I do have. And seeing as I don't drink many neutral grain spirits, I can't make a judgment in that arena. Maybe we're just talking about different things. The taste I am refering to is something "mediciny" that I seem to taste in all of the scotch that I have sampled, which is not many. I have them all written down somewhere, but I know I have tried several blends as well as single malts.

[OneCubeOnly]

That's hard to say then...because "mediciny" could define anything from the antiseptic smell that vodkas have to the menthol-type taste from a pot-stilled malt. I just know that when I taste blends, there's a DEFINITE rough, medicinal character from the grain whiskey which is absent in single-malts. Again, if you want to determine whether it's the peat smoke, taste an Irish--with few exceptions (eg. Connemara), they're not peated. Also, most mainstream Irishes are blends, so you'll get that same grainy (what *I* call medicinal) taste.

[ratcheer]

Well, you know I don't drink scotch, anymore, but when I did, JWB was one of my top choices. I preferred its full body and flavor over light scotches such as J&B, Chivas Regal, etc.

Tim

[Nightcap]

... The main malt in JWB is Talisker ...

I've read that it is Cardhu.