Johnnie Walker Black Label Review

First impressions

Johnnie Walker Black Label is a 12-year-old blended Scotch, bottled at 40% and made from a mix of malt and grain whiskies. A small share of peated malt, including Caol Ila from Islay, gives it a light seasoning of smoke. It's one of the most widely available whiskies in the world, and for a lot of people it's their first taste of smoky Scotch. It was mine.

We tasted it to see how it holds up. It's a decent introduction to Scotch, mainly because it doesn't push too hard in any one direction, although it lacks much complexity and isn't particularly strong value.

Nose

Quite light overall, with a slightly thin feel to it. There's some honey and a touch of heather, followed by orchard fruit, mainly sweet green apple, with a bit of orange citrus coming through as well. You get some maltiness, although there's also a noticeable grain spirit note. After a little while, a light but fairly sharp smoke starts to appear, with a mix of peat and wood smoke. It's reasonably rounded on the whole, and towards the end there's some oak, cinnamon and vanilla.

Palate

The palate is fairly thin and watery, with a bit of sharp spirit showing through. There's more smoke here than on the nose, although it has a slightly unusual, almost synthetic character to it. The fruit is mostly citrus and orchard based, with lemon, lime, green apple, sour apple and some pear. From the oak you get damp wood and barrel spice, alongside sweeter notes of vanilla, cream and honey. White pepper and something close to sugar cookies come through towards the end. Overall, it's a mellow and fairly easy-going whisky.

Finish

Medium in length, with softer orchard fruit, wood spice and a little black pepper. There's quite a noticeable sour malt note, although the finish still leans slightly sweet overall. White pepper, smoke, dry oak and a bit of spirit sharpness linger at the end.

Verdict

This is a decent introduction to Scotch whisky, mainly because it doesn't push too hard in any one direction. You get some mild smoke, light fruit, sweetness and oak, so it gives you a small taste of a few different styles without becoming too challenging.

The downside is that it lacks much complexity or real punch, and the palate in particular feels a bit weak. In terms of value, it's fine rather than outstanding. It's relatively affordable, but there are cheaper bottles around, and the overall quality makes it difficult to call this particularly strong value.

If you like the smoke and want a little more of it, our guide to lightly peated whisky lists the next steps up. We've also written about the older Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old.