Johnnie Walker Island Green

Yet another sample from my friend @LeeEvolved. Island Green is a travel retail exclusive from Johnnie Walker that is a blended malt consisting of Caol Ila, Clynelish, Cardhu and Glenkinchie. These 4 are suppose to represent the 4 regions of Scotland, even though there are really 6 (they left out the Islands [which Islay is not a part of] and Campbeltown). Bottled at 43% ABV and is chill filtered with colorant added making it a yellow gold in color. The nose is lightly smoky and quite waxy. Caol Ila and Clynelish are very much the stars right off the bat. Some campfire ashes and soot. Lots of honey biscuits, a bit salty and grassy. Orchard fruits - apples, apricots, pears, oranges, green grapes, and green bananas. The Cardhu fruitiness makes itself known for sure. Vanilla, toffee, olive brine and light oak. Everything here is pleasant enough, but it’s too weak to grab your attention. It needs to be at least 46%, maybe 48. The palate is fairly light. Light peat smoke and a gentle fruitiness. A touch of pepper, brine, phenolic. Lightly charred oak, campfire ashes, the Caol Ila stands out on the palate. Fairly sweet as well with apples, raspberries, apricots and faint banana. Some of the Clynelish waxiness but not much else. A light bodied mouthfeel that is thin but oily and waxy. Mouth coating. The finish is medium short, smoky campfire ashes, waxy. This blend is crying out for a big dose of Talisker to give it some power. Black Label is a prime example of why they should always keep Talisker in the blend. Also, I think they should have used Oban instead of Glenkinchie to provide some additional fruitiness and some Highland peat. Of course making those changes would destroy the 4 corners motif they were going for, but so what? If you wanted to make a blended malt to highlight the different regions of Scotland, why not just blend together the 6 Classic Malts? Make a Lagavulin, Talisker, Oban, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie, and Cragganmore blend (even though this still leaves out Campbeltown). I think that might make for a good blend of done right. Looking at JW’s track record though, they seem to do more wrong than they do right. Enough bitching, it’s a TRE that’s $55 for a 1L bottle from the most popular brand of blended scotch in the world, how much more can you ask for? Cheers

Nose: Very smoky. Behind the smoke you can find fruit, toffee and vanilla, but the smoke tends to mask rather than support the other aromas. It is a more phenolic and tarry smoke than that found in other Johnnie Walker blends - initially I could have sworn it had some Laphroaig in the recipe. Palate: Just as smoky as the nose, but also quite sweet with fruity and cereal flavours supporting the peaty centre. Some cider apple notes and a light almost sweet citrus touch. Finish: Medium/short. The smoky and fruity notes gradually fade, and there is less of the sour note in the aftertaste than I usually sense with Johnnie Walker blends. This is to Green Label what Double Black is to Black Label - a re-balance of a winning formulation to bring a fashionable smokiness front and centre on the stage. This blend is, however, more overt about that goal and it is the smokiest whisky produced under the Johnnie Walker brand. It has a lighter profile than Green Label, which is more rounded and heftier in comparison, and it also lacks the finesse and balance of Green Label. That blend has a briny note that adds greatly to its charm but it is missing here, which can lead to Island Green seeming a little too sweet. That said it is a fine, high quality whisky and I can’t help but wonder if it would be more generally accepted if it had been branded something like “Johnnie Walker Bronze Label” instead of “Island Green”. On the whole I think it’s pretty much the equal quality-wise of the Gold Label but with a totally different character, of course. This is a Travel Retail Exclusive bottling, so the price I've quoted is the price at Sydney airport Duty Free. It can be found in some local retail shops, in which case the price varies from $120-160. “Good” : 84/100 (3.75 stars)

My buddy @Generously_Paul ventured across the Canadian border and secured a bottle of this travel retail exclusive bottle of Johnnie Walker for me. This is a twist on the regular Green Label: the Island Green. What’s the difference you ask? It’s got more island influence. I expected more Caribbean-y flavors, not so much Islay. This runs about $55 for a 1L bottle. It’s a deep gold in the taster with lots of watery legs and no beads around the rim of the glass. The nose was a bit of tropical fruits, bananas and light smoke. There’s a birthday cake sweetness, but no cask profile to be found. The palate continues the light smoke, sweet peat, and candle wax. Apples and pears and a bit of vanilla round out the dram, mid sip but it does lead to a mouthwatering and oily finish. Just like any other typical JW- it doesn’t linger, but it also isn’t very deep. Overall, I can’t say it’s any better or worse than the regular Green Label. The price point is a plus since you get a liter for a similar price. It’s hard for me to recommend anything from JW, including this one. However, there’s isn’t anything to get offended over either. 2.75-3 stars based on VFM. Cheers.

Nose - Sweet fruity smoke, vanilla, black peppercorns, light fruity apple juice-like sweet Taste - Very light sweetness, fairly thin, gentle vanilla & grainy sweet, light filtered apple juice sweet, light smoke on the back end Finish - Light oaky fruit, vanilla, grain sweet, vaery light sweet smoke, black pepper Score - 72/100 Final Thoughts - Fairly simple blended malt, sadly not as put together as the standard Green. I think that since this is targeted as a travel retail only, it's meant to be fairly simple & pleasing to the masses. Sadly, this makes it quite boring, but very inoffensive. It can be sipped neat or mixed into a highball quite easily, but it's definitely something you're sipping on when you just want to have a drink in your hand. Would I drink it if offered? - Yes Would I specifically order it? - No Would I buy a bottle? - No

My second review and second bottle. The first one wasnt as good and I gave it 2.75*. Inoffensive smoke and then meh. This one gets almost an entire star more and made me upset I cracked it from the "do not drink" stash. Rubber, saline, roast beef grease, sangria with extra oranges. More peat AND smoke than the first bottle. They amp the whole bottle up in a way the other did not have. At all, whatsoever. This one is just nice and peaty. Literally perfect rusty nail material. Sips much nicer solo rocks, too. Neat brings out a malty and sweet fruit backbone. A lot better than my first bottle suggested. Wish I had splurged on more than just two while on vacation! Regular green, while different, is still just a touch nicer than this.

Woe is me... I purchased this 1 L bottle at a duty-free shop thinking "what could possibly go wrong with a Johnnie Walker that is a green label with a kick?". Turns out plenty! It's a fine enough whisky if you approach it with the mindset that it is barely anything like the core Green expression. It has no age statement, which is indication of the sort of tweaking that took place here, and ultimately it's just a dram that tastes of smoke and peat without much else. Gone is the complexity, gone is the depth, and gone is the pleasure that comes from enjoying a Green Label. It's a shame, and now I'm stuck with 970 mL!