Review by: The Muskox
Hey, it’s my 250th scotch review! I do really love writing these. This one is all about Johnnie Walker’s super-sized and super-priced Blue Label, focused on the legendary closed distillery Brora. I don’t have too much experience with Brora, other than that one really tasty dram from a couple months ago. Thank goodness they’ve bottled this one at a decent ABV.
Distillery: Blend (Brora, Cambus, Cameronbridge, Clynelish, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie, Pittyvaich, and Royal Lochnagar)
Bottler: Johnnie Walker.
Region: Blend.
ABV: 46%.
Age: No age statement. Bottled in 2018.
Cask type: Unknown.
Price: $536 CAD.
Color: Artificial. Chill-filtered.
Nose: Super buttery. Rich caramel and honeycomb up front, with fresh-baked flaky cinnamon buns. Some raisin challah, nutty toasted cream, and marzipan. Sweet apples and that dried fruit leather stuff. A bit of a maple butter note as well, which I’m sure you know we Canadians go nuts over. Really very little in the way of peat or seaside here.
Palate: Soft and silky texture, perhaps a bit lighter-bodied than I expected given the buttery nose. The palate arrives with caramel, developing almost immediately into a mineral note, then after a second into woodsmoke and spicy black pepper. Underneath is creamy sweetness: Vanilla, caramel, fig, and more maple butter. Transitions from the smoke into heavy oak tannins, grape skin, balsamic vinegar, dark chocolate and coffee. A bit of graphite lingers.
Finish: Long and spiced, turning sweeter. Clove, vanilla, maple, and coconut, underlain by tobacco smoke and a touch of earth.
Conclusion: Heavy and succulent. I couldn’t drink this dram quickly if I tried. The nose is my favourite part: Even it’s a bit one-dimensional (practically all butter), but goodness is it ever a nice dimension. I couldn’t find any Brora on the nose, but it does come through on the palate as that mineral-y spicy smoke. The finish is pretty tasty. I don’t dig the amount of tannin on the back end. Overall, a bit over-produced, but quite tasty.
(Future Muskox here, importing this review onto Malt Runners in June 2023. Having had a bunch more Brora since trying this, I don’t think that this whisky really has all that much Brora flavour in it. Oh well.)
Final Score: 84.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 