This is the 2005 anniversary edition of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, bottled at full cask strength and sealed in a crystal decanter made for the occasion by Baccarat. It marked 200 years since the birth of John Walker, and it remains a rare chance to taste the Blue Label blend without any reduction in strength.
About This Bottling
Rather than the usual 40%, the Blue Label blend here was left close to the strength it came out of the cask, with auction and trade listings recording it at around 60.5% ABV. Around 4,000 decanters were released worldwide. The engraved crystal decanter was made by Baccarat, the French glassworks founded in 1764, and each one came in a fitted leather presentation case.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Raisin, toasted nuts and heather honey, with a thread of smoke and orange peel.
- Palate: Dense and powerful at full strength, with dried fruit, dark toffee, sherry-soaked cake and gentle peat, softening to vanilla and spice with water.
- Finish: Very long, drying slowly through oak, smoke and nutty sweetness.
Serving & Food
Pour a small measure into a tulip glass at room temperature and add water a few drops at a time, since the strength is high. Serve after dinner with dark chocolate, walnuts or a slice of aged Comté.
How to Enjoy
A centrepiece for a serious Johnnie Walker collection, or a memorable gift for someone born in 2005.
Product Details
Producer/Brand: Johnnie Walker (Diageo), Scotland
Edition: Blue Label 200th Anniversary (2005), marking the birth of John Walker in 1805
Style / Presentation: Cask strength Blue Label blend in an engraved Baccarat crystal decanter, leather case
Style: Blended Scotch whisky
ABV: Approx. 60.5% (cask strength)
Release Size: Around 4,000 decanters worldwide
Origin: Scotland
Volume: 750mL
About the Distillery
John Walker was born on 25 July 1805 at Todriggs Farm, just outside Kilmarnock in Ayrshire. In 1820, still in his teens, he opened a small grocery shop in the town, and it was there, selling teas, spices and whisky, that the family began blending malts to give customers a more consistent dram. His son Alexander and grandson Alexander II turned that shop trade into a global business, and the brand now sits within Diageo. The bicentenary of his birth in 2005 was marked with two commemorative bottlings: 1805, a 200-bottle blend of very old whiskies made by master blender Jim Beveridge, and this cask strength Blue Label in Baccarat crystal.