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Scotch Drinkers -- JW Swing Available in US

post #1 of 17
4/10/06 at 2:35am
Thread Starter 
It seems that one of the older (discontinued, rather than aged) varieties of Johnnie Walker scotch is available again in the US -- Swing. Swing is an undated scotch with an odd convex-bottomed bottle that rocks when displaced. It, and its cousin Superior Swing, have been hard to find in the US for some time. SS is still vapor, but it's nice to have Swing back. Moves to the top of my list.

Regards,
Huntsman
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post #2 of 17
4/13/06 at 7:16am
I think you can get it in Australia, at the duty-free store at Sydney's airport. It was either Swing or Premier - i can't quite remember.
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post #3 of 17
4/13/06 at 7:15pm
You'd do much better with gold or green.
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post #4 of 17
4/13/06 at 11:31pm
Thread Starter 
Well, I can't say I agree, but merely as a matter of lack of knowledge. Have you had it? Maybe I'll just leave it in the bottle, then. I stock JW Red, Black, Gold and Green (Blue will be a gift to myself when I graduate), but Swing has a cachet, and I've been wanting a bottle for some time. Regards, Huntsman
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post #5 of 17
4/13/06 at 11:35pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntsman
Well, I can't say I agree, but merely as a matter of lack of knowledge. Have you had it? Maybe I'll just leave it in the bottle, then. I stock JW Red, Black, Gold and Green (Blue will be a gift to myself when I graduate), but Swing has a cachet, and I've been wanting a bottle for some time.

Regards,
Huntsman

Swing and Superior Swing have been readily availible in the UK for a long time. It is worth a try, but I preffer Gold. Each to their own, I would not say I'm an expert, but I know what I like.
Other ones I like are
Macallan
Laguvain
Laphroig
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post #6 of 17
4/13/06 at 11:53pm
Thread Starter 
Yes, but that's the UK! On this side of the pond, it's not so much. I agree with you completely about Gold. I enjoy it very much. I also agree on Macallan and Lagavulin -- high on my list. Laphroig, too on a good day. I'd say knowing what you like does make you an expert, though! Reagrds, Huntsman
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post #7 of 17
4/13/06 at 11:55pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Huntsman
Yes, but that's the UK! On this side of the pond, it's not so much. I agree with you completely about Gold. I enjoy it very much. I also agree on Macallan and Lagavulin -- high on my list. Laphroig, too on a good day.

I'd say knowing what you like does make you an expert, though!

Reagrds,
Huntsman

Haha, I apologise about the spellings..

Have you had JW Oldest?
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post #8 of 17
4/24/06 at 5:49am
Speaking of Johnnie Walker --

I think there is a noticeably difference in taste between the red and black labels. You get used to the black stuff and the red pales in comparison.

But I've always felt that the other two or three (blue and what? gold?) priced above the black label weren't worth the money.

Thoughts?
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post #9 of 17
4/24/06 at 9:21am
Gold label in Australia costs about $100 USD (when a friend was in Lebanon he was buying it for $50 USD ). Blue label is roughly double that. I think gold label is worth the money, and blue isn't; i couldn't justify buying a bottle of blue when instead i could get 2 bottles of gold, or 3 of Lagavulin or 4 of Laphroaig.
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post #10 of 17
4/24/06 at 3:53pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Horace
Speaking of Johnnie Walker --

I think there is a noticeably difference in taste between the red and black labels. You get used to the black stuff and the red pales in comparison.

But I've always felt that the other two or three (blue and what? gold?) priced above the black label weren't worth the money.

Thoughts?

I agree about Black being miles ahead of Red.

I can't say the same about Gold not being worth it, I think it is, that said, it is 40 GBP here, and Black costs about 25 GBP.
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post #11 of 17
4/24/06 at 5:29pm
I still prefer a Macallan 18 year or a Glenmorangie Fino Sherry Wood Finish.
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post #12 of 17
4/25/06 at 12:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Horace
Speaking of Johnnie Walker --

I think there is a noticeably difference in taste between the red and black labels. You get used to the black stuff and the red pales in comparison.

But I've always felt that the other two or three (blue and what? gold?) priced above the black label weren't worth the money.

Thoughts?

Your observation about Black v. Red is spot on. Lagavulin is the base for Black; Cardhu for Red, so the flavor profiles are totally different, even setting age aside. I really enjoy Gold--it's almost creamy--but I'm not sure it's 66-75% better than Black, as the price would seem to indicate.

As for Green and Blue, save your money. To my palate, they both taste weak and lack complexity, though Blue is very smooth. I'll grant that I'm an Islay drinker who generally likes a lot of smoke and Iodine, but compare Blue even to, say, MacAllan 18 or Balvenie 21, both of which are less expensive, and it fares poorly.

I've tried swing, and found it to be very much like Red. Not bad for the price.
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post #13 of 17
4/25/06 at 4:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mute
I still prefer a Macallan 18 year or a Glenmorangie Fino Sherry Wood Finish.

Ah, Glenorangie, a man after my own heart. I'm partial to the Port wood finish, but the sherry makes me happy, too. Has anyone tried Welsh Whiskey? Only 1 or 2 distilleries left, Prince of Wales most notably, to provide the whiskey to Buckingham Palace as a part of its charter.
Be Better Guys
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post #14 of 17
4/26/06 at 12:21am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyto
Your observation about Black v. Red is spot on. Lagavulin is the base for Black; Cardhu for Red, so the flavor profiles are totally different, even setting age aside. I really enjoy Gold--it's almost creamy--but I'm not sure it's 66-75% better than Black, as the price would seem to indicate.

What's the source of the info on the malt content of Black? I was given to understand that Black has a Speyside base, though heavily influenced by Islay malts. In fact, that Cardhu is the single largest contributor to Black, with a good shot of Lagavulin and Caol Ila as well. Red seems to have a higher grain percentage.

I also enjoy Gold very much.

Regards,
Huntsman
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post #15 of 17
4/26/06 at 1:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mute
I still prefer a Macallan 18 year or a Glenmorangie Fino Sherry Wood Finish.
I'll second that in regards to the Macallan's 18 year. For the price point, Blue label isn't worth the money when much better single malts could be had. I also (completely) agree with whoever said that Black label is much better than Red. I've tried Green and I can't really see too much difference between it and Black. One of these days, I'll just have to line up a few glasses and do a taste test. In the end, it's still just a matter of taste. Surprisingly, though, I've talked to a lot of scotch drinkers and the opinions are relatively similar (although I've met a few who will only drink single malt and surprisingly some that only drink blended). For nights where I wanna roll cheaply I'll drink Black label or Macallans 12. When I feel like I want to spend more money I'll go for the 18. Although I'm always willing to give new names a try. Bevmo.com has some pretty good rankings and prices for scotch. Speaking of Bevmo.... Has anyone tried the Bowmore Scotch Darkest Sherry Finish? http://www.bevmo.com/productinfo.asp...hestRating%7C1 It's rated second highest on Bevmo (right behind the Macallan 25 year which I would love to try) and only $59.95. That sounds like a great value to me.
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