Johnny Walker Scotch- Which is the best tasting label?

[PandArts]

Originally Posted by iammatt

Prole here. I like Black, and prefer it to any single malt other than Laphroig. Blends and malts both have their place.

 

[borderline]

Originally Posted by cheessus

Any glen will do.

 

[culverwood]

Had some red for the first time in a long while. Nothing wrong with it compared to the brands it competes with,

 

[Szeph el raton]

We once tried them all, I think the best bang for the buck is the Green Label. So my vote goes to Green.

 

[fwiffo]

Originally Posted by culverwood

Had some red for the first time in a long while. Nothing wrong with it compared to the brands it competes with,

Straight, rocks or mixed?

 

[narcissism]

Where does the green label rank pricewise?

 

[culverwood]

Rocks and mixed

 

[Kyoung05]

Originally Posted by narcissism

Where does the green label rank pricewise?

It ranks somewhere between Black and Gold. I usually see it for somewhere between $40-$50 (sometimes less if it's at an Asian grocery store, but I am suspicious as it its authenticity). While it's not bad for a Johnnie Walker, for that amount of money, you can find far better whiskeys. In fact, just recently at Costco, they had Lagavulin 16 for $50, which IMO, even blows Blue out of the water.

 

[jhva3]

Black (or Glenlivet) is what I drink at bars because all the others can be insanely priced at times and I don't usually care to ask.

I don't really care for Red, but will drink it if it is all there is available.

Green is smoother than Black and has more flavor than any of the others.

Gold is really great when served ice cold. I like to keep a bottle in my freezer and drink it neat.

I drank a bottle of Swing once. It was perfectly adequate, but I would say it is not a very good value apart from the cool bottle, which will supposedly rock back and forth if you bring it on a ship.

Blue is good too, but I agree that it is not a very good value. I recently picked up a bottle for $150, which is a great deal, but is still a little bit more than I am usually comfortable paying.

 

[D Yizz]

Originally Posted by jhva3

Gold is really great when served ice cold. I like to keep a bottle in my freezer and drink it neat.


Exactly!!

 

[Kyoung05]

Originally Posted by jhva3

Black (or Glenlivet) is what I drink at bars because all the others can be insanely priced at times and I don't usually care to ask.

I don't really care for Red, but will drink it if it is all there is available.

Green is smoother than Black and has more flavor than any of the others.

Gold is really great when served ice cold. I like to keep a bottle in my freezer and drink it neat.

I drank a bottle of Swing once. It was perfectly adequate, but I would say it is not a very good value apart from the cool bottle, which will supposedly rock back and forth if you bring it on a ship.

Blue is good too, but I agree that it is not a very good value. I recently picked up a bottle for $150, which is a great deal, but is still a little bit more than I am usually comfortable paying.

Doesn't chilling a spirit (or any drink for that matter) tend to dull the flavor? With a spirit like whiskey, why would you want to do this? I've had Gold Label served this way at a Johnnie Walker tasting, but I don't think I'd ever do this with a bottle I paid for.

 

[D Yizz]

Have a sip of it at room temperature and analyze the taste. Have a couple of very cold water sips and then have another GL sip. Analyze taste. You should be able to tell the difference, and it should be better the second time. I agree chilling liquors usually dull the flavor, but this is not the case with GL. Don't ask me why.

 

[CouttsClient]

Originally Posted by Kyoung05

Doesn't chilling a spirit (or any drink for that matter) tend to dull the flavor? With a spirit like whiskey, why would you want to do this? I've had Gold Label served this way at a Johnnie Walker tasting, but I don't think I'd ever do this with a bottle I paid for.
There's a reason they served it cold at the tasting

 

[borderline]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Slim

The labels all pretty much taste the same to me.
Kinda papery with a hint of adhesive.

I thought the green label had a hint of mint, but that might be the power of suggestion.

 

[jhva3]

Originally Posted by Kyoung05

Doesn't chilling a spirit (or any drink for that matter) tend to dull the flavor? With a spirit like whiskey, why would you want to do this? I've had Gold Label served this way at a Johnnie Walker tasting, but I don't think I'd ever do this with a bottle I paid for.

I was going to include a caveat there, because I knew it would come up. This is the "official" way JW recommends to drink it. I don't usually follow such things blindly, so I have tried it both ways, but for some reason, it is better ice cold. 99% of the time though, I take my scotch warm and with a few drops of water.