It's the best JW I've tasted so far. This Duncan Taylor 18 really blew me away though: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dtw_GE9rUuQ.html. Cheers!
Yup Green is the best of the JW in my opinion. The Blue label is so overrated and ridiculously overpriced. For $400, the cost in. Vancouver, I can get some spectacular single malt scotch whiskies! At least the Green comes in at 43%! The scotch that makes up this expression are great so I’m disappointed in the outcome. It could be a lot better.
Glad you decided to try it Kevin. And yes, you're right, it's an OK whisky for having a quick one. But if given the choice I would also choose any other single malt. But as I said before, it's a great starter for someone who doesn't know anything about malt whisky and wants to start to discover. Slàinte
Just bought a bottle of green, not my first Rodeo to do so. I find it a good shout if someone said they wanted to taste something “smooth” it’s an easy sipper with mostly mellowed out palette with a little bit of a spicy ending. I’m normally in the smoky Islay camp; Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin etc but find this something to enjoy a little bit sweeter and calmer. I can also get it (living in Japan) for ¥4000 or $30. Which is a bargain for 15 year old juice, even if it is a blend.
That is a bargain! My wife and I are planning to visit Japan (March of 2024) for the first time. I know that's a long time from now, but as full-time travelers (ru-vid.com), we need to plan far in advance. Cheers!
I had an old (1975 ) bottle of Green label JW lying in my late father in law's stash and my brother in law and me decided to try it out. You'll not believe the complexity of flavours we got in from that one! And we kept marvelling at our father in law's great taste and choice all night! After all we too were examples of that!
I can only imagine what a 1975 bottle of whisky would be like. That was back before the crash and rebirth of Scotch. Here's to your father-in-law's great taste 🥃. Slàinte mhath!
Good to follow up with JW Green. I actually enjoy this and ... possibly more than Talisker 10. Not when I'm going for that full stormy malt. But as a closer to a daily drinker, I really do enjoy. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, Jon! I see you reviewed this a couple of years ago… OUTSIDE with light snow coming down. Even though I grew up in Buffalo, I couldn't handle that environment for a review. You're a sturdy Canadian. ;) And it's funny that you should mention enjoying the Green Label more than the Talisker 10. That evening when I was editing this video, I was waffling back and forth between the two pours. It's a tough call. Cheers!
@@WhiskyRiffs Peated malts with light snow? A very good combination for me. I would certainly say it may be a mood choice. Talisker certainly has more character.
@@WhiskyNeighbour Good shout on the Talisker: more character nails it. But I'll let you keep the smokey/snowy combination, I left Buffalo in 1985 for a reason. ;)
For my take sir it hits home for the tag the notes an the smoke and smoothness was the hit getting the blue label next week of you have done one on that one would love to see you do it great video on it as well
very nice and peaceful review and background music made it a pleasure to listen to with all them loud mouth reviews out there this was a pleasure to listen to ,please make some more and thanks . yea green was nice to sip on and really a big difference from the black to me the black was weak would i pay the extra money sure why not i would do 4 ounces of green and go into the black for the 6/7 ounces .
Green Label is the only JW I drink. I will actually put 4 drops of filtered water (I really mean 4 drops) in my glencairn and it really is pretty decent. Good review. Cheers 🥃
Nice review. As you said, Johnnie is mass market and never quite going to cut it for true afficionados, but the green label is a nice sipper and a must have in the cabinet for guests not as deep into the hobby. Picked it up for $32 here in Germany, which does make it a good deal for a 15 year malt. Btw. I'd steal that hollowbody off your wall in a second, if I wasn't a Leftie ❤😉
Double Black & Green are definitely my picks as well, I do recall enjoying the Platinum but they don't make that anymore. Thinking 18 year was the same but the Platinum was much better
Hi Kevin , glad to see you : ) J W 15 Green one of my favorites whisky .3 month ago i buy 2 bottle ( 34 euro per bottle) and .... Drink it ))) Cheers !
Personally as someone who was introduced to Whiskey through Red Label as a party consumption (with the exception of the more expensive blends in my fathers mysterious liquor kabinet), I was interested in the different labels as I got older and visited different types of parties. I liked the idea of "upgrading" as my pocket allowed it, emphasis on the fact that I am not a whiskey/scotch connoisseur, JW helped me explore this world though and Green Label was actually my preferred taste even over the more expensive Blue Label. I would love to hear any expressions that provide a more adventurous pallet to the taste in the Green Label price range! What would be your personal recommendation over the Green Label?
As you said, you like the taste of Green Label so it's hard to beat a flavor you enjoy. For a blended Scotch, I'd suggest trying Compass Box Spice Tree. My favorite peated single malts are Port Charlotte 10 Heavily Peated and almost any Ardbeg, but the 10 is the most affordable. For a nice finished peated whisky, go for the Ardbeg Uigeadail. Cheers!
I got my own Infinity bottle of SINGLE MALT scotch whiskies almost topped off…..Lagavulin 16, 8, Distillers edition, Talisker 10, Ardbeg 10, Ardbeg An Oa, Port Charlotte 12 or 10 i can’t remember, Laphroaig 10, Craigellachie 13, Talisker Storm, Glen Scotia 15, Glenmorangie 10,12,14 etc, I can’t wait to see what this creation yields!
Totally agree, Kevin, haven't had Johnny years but it was the Green that I appreciated more than the others. As for the brand, I've yet to come across one that markets itself better. I can't tell you how many sponsored Johnny events I attended in the 2000's with their kilted brand ambassadors bestowing whiskey wisdom as we sampled the line. Most of us could not discern red from blue but we left feeling special. 😁
I love the Green Label. It’s been my favorite blended malt for several years. Unfortunately, the price has skyrocketed over the last two months. I would gladly pay the old price of 49.99, but I will not pay 67.99. Goodbye Johnnie Walker.
I'm not going to lie, my preference is the Double Black, because of the smoke and peat. This one runs third,after the Blue., but of course, nobody is wrong.
You are very correct, there is no wrong answer when it comes to whisky. But you might like some Islay expressions if you enjoy smoke and peat: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k9ERddWrp6M.htmlsi=hkU2-f8Rt_YW4_qd.
If I'm at a bar, I typically look for a single malt first. I'd probably choose an Irish whiskey next, and then a bourbon. The JW blends were low on my list before the Green Label. Now I might try that, depending on the price. Cheers!
I’m either a single malt islay guy or a spicy rye guy. But for $30 the “high rye” isn’t terrible and it’s a good bottom shelf option for guests who don’t know what they like or want or for cocktails.
I have no real problem with the green. Now that I have let go of my snooty Ness a little bit, I have found that my favorite way to enjoy a drink is a little bit of blended malt with some Gingerale, believe it or not I’m perfectly happy with monkey shoulder, and the Johnny Walker Green mixed with a little Gingerale however one of the reasons I love your channel is because I stilll from time to time will pour an Ardbeg or lagavulin and try to catch the strong flavors that way. Still training my palette and nose
I’ve always tried not to be a whisky snob. I had plenty of people rolling their eyes when I ordered Maker’s Mark at bars. I’ve adopted the motto, “Drink the whisky you like the way you like it.” That serves me well. Thanks and cheers!
I haven’t purchased green label for at least 15 years but the ones I have are great. When you’re traveling especially in Europe it’s usually the only decent chance available.
I had the same sampler pack and bought a bottle of green label to compare. The green label is definitely solid, especially for the price. I think if I were to try them blind though, either the 18 or Blue Label might come out on top. The Green Label is definitely a better overall value though.
Good that you got the JW Green, It is a nice dram to sip and it is the best among the JW stable and don't compare a single malt to blended one, they will never be the same, except when its a Compass Box. Green Label is more near to Linkwood than Talisker but again Linkwood is hard to find. Sip is it and enjoy JW Green, when you feel like 'uhm... what should I drink?'. Nice dram, enjoy it 😃
I agree that Green Label is a good blend and compares well to some single malts. It's all about the price to value based on where you live. If JW is much less expensive than any single malts you can buy, it's not a bad sipping dram. Cheers!
@@WhiskyRiffs where I live, the price is ~37 euro for GL 0.7. Not sure, why blend of 15 YO single malts should be _much less expensive_ than _any_ single malt. There are peated single malts cheaper - Connemara 24euro, Talisker 10/ Laphroaig QC are about the same ~40euro etc
I wasn't planning to revisit JW expressions, until so many commenters recommended the Green Label. Now I'm happy I did at least try it, even if it's still not a go-to whisky for me. Cheers!
If money wasn't an issue, I'd say the Blue Label is a little bit more nuanced, and with a longer, smooth finish. I had the opportunity of trying both the Blue and Green during a long afternoon at my dad's, a few years back. Now, considering that the Blue Label is around four or even five times the price of the Green, I wouldn't buy the BL. I'd choose dozens of other single malts over the BL, in the $120-$250 tier.
Thanks for sharing, Pablo. The Blue Label is so overpriced. It's a bit cheaper here in Scotland, but still nothing I'd spend that kind of money on over other drams I appreciate more. Cheers!
There are a lot of single malts out there, especially if you enjoy a bit of smoke flavor: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-k9ERddWrp6M.htmlsi=hkU2-f8Rt_YW4_qd.
Green is the best Johnnie Walker IMO but at £45 a bottle its a little expensive. If you are looking at paying 50 quid for a bottle of whiskey there's better options out there! Pesonnally I really the Black and you can often get it on offer for around £22-24.
Thanks for sharing! I agree about the Green and shared my opinions about the rest in this review: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Z_lA_a4V324.html. Cheers!
So I was excited to tried the Green and came away disappointed. The palate tasted very unbalanced and unpleasant to me. Idk if ingotna bad bottle but I actually preferred the regular Black to it. I thought the Platinum was the best I had. Idk if I'd buy a bottle of Green again think I would have to retry at a bar.
I had another viewer mention the Platinum, but I'm doubtful I'll ever get to try a dram. Because the ABV is bumped to 43% and it's 100% malted barley, I think it matched my taste profile for a Scotch better than the other JW blends I've tried. But taste is very personal and there's no right or wrong in whisky. Cheers!
With it being a blend, what would you say the percentage is of speyside vs islay? You keep comparing this to Talisker. Is this more of an islay blended whiskey? Would would the ppm roughly be?
Hi John. I guess I compared the Green Label to Talisker because there are brine and seashore notes in the flavors. I wouldn't compare it to a smokey Islay and I'd never use PPM to describe the peat levels in a dram. I know that Bruichladdich promotes the high PPM on its Octomore line to describe it, but at best that only works for a single distillery. The peat flavors in Port Charlotte Heavily Peated 10 are different from Ardbeg Corryvreckan which are different from a cask strength Laphroaig 10. They could have similar numbers but tastes are personal. I hope that helps!
There are too many really good 10 and 12 year single malts available in the same price range that are going to have better flavor, finish and complexity to waste money on JW Green even with a 15 year age statement. 15 years in a third fill barrel isn't going to contribute as much as 12 in a first or second. I would take one of the Compass Box malt blends over JW, and probably for less money. With JW the real question is, what cocktail are you going to make?
I'm not a huge fan of rating numbers on whisky because flavors are personal. There are some quality ratings that could be applied at times, but if you enjoy a whisky then you should drink it. For me, Green Label is better than the other JW expressions, but I like single malt Scotch so that's my bias. I hope this helps.
The Green Label is a Blended Malt Scotch, which means it has Single Malt Scotch expressions in it. I agree that it's not exactly the same, but I do think that comparing prices is worthwhile.
JW Green Label ist good, tried it once in my Whisky Bar. But to be honest, for the same price I can get already much better Single Malt Whisky. So nice to try but definitively not a "must have".
I'd like to hear your thoughts on my latest episode: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-dtw_GE9rUuQ.html. Especially if you've tried this Blended Scotch expression. Cheers!
7:16 .. what are my thoughts? I think you're a teeny beeny bit of a snob? You play the guitar really nice and mellow. But yea, I would say the best expression of JW is black label 12 years old. hen comes green. Then comes blue. And with the exception of red label, no JW flavor is worthy of the facial expression you had when talking about them.
I try to be honest with my reviews and stick to my opinions of why I like or don't like a whisky. My facial expressions are a result of how I feel about a whisky and don't represent how anyone else should feel. I'll make some horrible faces drinking most Rye whiskies, but millions of people love them. I just don't. As for JW, I do think the brand has expressions that are often over priced for the flavor profiles - especially Blue Label. If that makes me a snob for suggesting that big brands aren't always the best choice, then I'm a snob. I'll always recommend that people try other types of whisky so they can find flavors that my not be in their "go to" expression. I'm constantly challenging myself to step outside my comfort zone, but I'll never tell anyone that their choice of drink is wrong. Drink what you like, how you like it. Cheers!
Whisky distribution is so weird. For the most part, San Francisco is a decent place for variety. I can get the Green Label now, but a few weeks back… nope.
Good video except for the background music, sounds like being in a classroom full of students in a history period with some bullshit music coming from that scrappy built in speakers in the ceiling walls, very annoying.
Some expressions can feel like they've been rushed. There was a "peated" whisky in the US that was created by using extra staves in the barrel to "enhance" the smoky flavor. It didn't taste rich or authentic. I don't know what JW does to create their expressions, but most of the high-production brands have to compromise something. Cheers!
