Johnnie Walker Blue Label is the top of the regular Johnnie Walker line of colour-named blends, a blended Scotch without an age statement, first released in 1992. This 200mL bottle holds the same 40% ABV blend in a smaller size.
About This Whisky
Blue Label is built from casks the blenders select from a very large stock of maturing whisky, which the brand puts at roughly one cask in ten thousand, including some from distilleries that have since closed. There is no age statement, so the blenders can choose casks for character rather than a minimum age.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Soft, rounded smoke with raisins, honey and a little hazelnut.
- Palate: Layers of dried fruit and citrus-tinged smoke, turning to honey, sweet spice and vanilla.
- Finish: Long and gently smoky, with polished sweetness and spice.
Serving & Food
The brand's own suggestion works well: sip it neat and cleanse the palate between sips with a glass of iced water. Serve with smoked duck breast, dark chocolate with orange or dim sum such as har gow.
How to Enjoy
A compact gift, a hotel-room nightcap or a first taste of Blue Label before committing to a full bottle.
Product Details
Producer: John Walker & Sons (Diageo)
Origin: Scotland
Category: Blended Scotch whisky
Age: No age statement
ABV: 40%
Volume: 200mL
About the Distillery
The story starts in 1820 in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, where a teenage John Walker took over a family grocery and began selling whisky alongside tea and spices. Blending came as a practical answer to single malts that varied from cask to cask. His son Alexander turned it into an export business and gave the brand two lasting features: the square bottle, which packed tightly and broke less often at sea, and the label set at a slant.
The Striding Man logo arrived in 1908, the colour names in 1909, and the company is now part of Diageo. The blends are made under Master Blender Dr Emma Walker.