I’m at the beginning of what will likely be a lifetime of learning about Scotch. 

Though once quite intimidated by the myriad variations, brands, and wide range of qualities, Greg and I were recently blessed with the opportunity to attend a tasting hosted by Johnnie Walker Whisky.  It was quite educational, and quite delicious.

I had always heard that the single malt variety of Scotch was considered the highest quality.  “Single malt” implies exactly what you’d think; it’s distilled from a single distillery, using malted barley as the only ingredient.

Johnnie Walker is a “blended” Scotch, which means it’s a mixture of both single malt Scotches and Scottish grain whiskies (which come from corn, wheat and/or unmalted barley). 

At the tasting, we were treated to a sample of each of the five Johnnie Walker ‘lines’; from the economical Red Label to the quite pricy, uber-premium Blue Label (which typically retails for $200/750ml). 

Of the five varieites we tried, Black (which is actually the #1 selling Whisky in the entire world) stood out in my mind as the best. 

Its flavor was incredibly smooth, and by that I mean it didn’t have the somewhat ‘medicinal’ peatiness (which is the result of drying the malt over a peat fire) I’ve found in most single malts I’ve tried. 

It’s actually blended from up to 40 different Scotches, each aged at least 12 years.  You can taste the result of the superior blend in its sweeter, caramel overtones and subtle hints of smoke that give it a robust, pleasing finish.

Here in Denver I can get a 1L bottle for around $45, a steal in my opinion.  It’s an excellent introduction to Scotch; smooth and simple.

A short pour over a single cube after a long day’s work is just what Dr. Johnnie ordered to ease me into the night.

Info at Johnnie Walker

-Cash

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