Agreed...some single malts have basically doubled in price since the pandemic in the states. Paying $70-80 for the same thing I used to buy for $40 in 2020.
Good gracious me Ralfy....I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw you were review JW Red! 😲. However as always, you meet the E.E.E.H. criteria and that in itself is an integrity presentation. Meanwhile back on the single malt trail.....😌😼.
Wait what…? Red label? Well JW Black and soda is my go to when having happy hour events for work doesn’t get me intoxicated I don’t need to think and just drink without a care when I don’t have time for deep dives. There’s a place for JW.
The last time I had JW Red label was in rural Iowa, where it was the best on offer. I purchased a bottle and carried it by bike with some of my father’s ashes for about 60 km. I left the ashes at my grandparents’ graves and drank my father’s memory with a group of friends. The whisky did the trick, but I always wished I’d been able to find a single malt for the occasion.
Have you seen the ad some marketing student made for JW? It would probably resonate with you and it's absolutely beautiful. Look up "dear brother johnnie walker".
There are SO MANY whiskey review channels and they all do the same thing: speak about the same notes in every single pour, and act like they're surprised every now and then. Thank you for being unique and educating
25 thousand people have watched this video and only 1500 people have ticked the like button. If you want more Ralfy videos please tick the ''like'' button when you watch his videos. Show some support please if you could. It costs you nothing and keeps the channel going. Thanks, Adam.
@@VazzVegas Green used to be excellent, but it still is, probably, the best JW offers. They do have special editions of Blue, which are bottled in the mid-fifty percent ABV range. I really wish that they would do some special editions of Green Label, non-chill filtered and higher ABV, but I doubt that will ever happen. Too bad.
@@johnandrus3901 They have the Island Green, which is a Duty Free exclusive and not much more expensive. It was one of the first Scotches I ever bought and I remember loving it. I need to get myself another one to see if it's still the same quality.
Saying people's lifes are meaningless just because they drink JW bluelabel is pretty harsh. I'd say they just don't know any better. That's all. And you can't really blame them, you can only educate them. Marketing is and always will be a powerful tool.
You make some good points and I would like to add one of my own. The seemingly pretentious folks who can be enthralled by marketing can very well not know any better, but my observations tend to make me think that many of them are willfully ignorant and don’t care about anything other than what other people think of them. I don’t want to be so presumptuous as to put myself in a position of judging others because a disinterested observer could never know everything that motivates others, although rampant superficiality can be very telling if it pervades an entire lifestyle.
You could equally damn the ever growing ‘connoisseurs’ who watch Ralfy et al then look down their noses at those who don’t understand the holy trinity, 46% ABV and above, NCF and no added colour. (And no doubt wishing they were able to afford a Lamborghini).
A neighbor has a 28 year old bottle or JW Red that is astoundingly different. It is actually pleasant to drink. So very different! I also thought it was a single malt! Totally different!
Blended whiskey isn't what it used to be, vast production has taken over, overused casks and deliberate blandness,or as they like to call it, smoothness.
Love it! But what I learned at my photography academy is that when you capture people walking to the left, they walk home, to a safe place. When people walk to the right, they go out of their homes and on an adventure :) That trick is used heavily in marketing and commercials :)
@@evenbiggerboss Just think of a man walking to the left, and what it makes you feel. Then do the same with a person walking to the right. Then look at all the photos you see in advertising, and your eyes will see :)
Here in Germany you could by a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label for 10.99 EUR when it is heavily discounted in the supermarket. Cheerio and slainte mhath P.S. You are a snob, Ralfy. This is the reason why we love you.
Interestingly I have a JW Islay edition 12 year blended malt @ 42%. It is acceptable on its own but I been halving it with Cutty Sark Prohibition at 50% and weirdly they become very good. The JW was about £35 for a litre.
Early into this video I thought "Oh, this is different, Ralfy must be reaching out to new viewers." Then the story of his early and brief days as barman came out. Classic Ralfy and true to form. Great stuff.
Last year at the bar I work for: Bar manager: "We're finally getting a scotch!" Me, a Ralfy subscriber: "Fantastic! Which one??" Manager: "JW red!" Me: "Oh no.....no no no NO...."
@@barlotardy What alcohol DID you have before you took the "radical step" of branching out into scotch? By the looks of it you could list the whole menu in a RUclips comment.
@@passengersplace 10 basic liquors, 6 beer taps, and two wines....from a box. (2 bourbons, 1 irish whiskey, 1 gin, 3 vodkas for some reason, 2 rums, one tequila.) It's not much, but it pays the rent.
You know classic whisky cocktails like manhattans, old fashioned, whisky sours, gold rushes to name a few is what led me onto my whisky journey. So for me there's nothing wrong with cocktails in my opinion. Thank you for the review Ralfy, all the best. 😊🥃
My dad's favorite drink was an Old Fashioned. He grew up during Prohibition, so he liked the one with the muddle, which was used to make the whiskey taste better during that time. My parents would make Whiskey Sours, for guests, which always went over quite well. I still enjoy an Old Fashioned fairly often and Rob Roy's, too, which are Scotch Manhattans. Cheers!
@johnandrus3901 The old fashioned is an absolute classic. Definitely helped me understand and enjoy whisky. So many different whisky cocktails to enjoy. All part of the journey. I find myself enjoying single malts nowadays but I'll have to try a rob roy now you've mentioned it! Cheers to you and good health. 🥃🥃
Hmmn. Big fan Ralphy but it seems a bit ott to suggest that everyone who drinks blended whisky does it to get “pished”! What about the “quality”blends (Chivas, Dimple Pinch, Monkey Shoulder etc) and the skill of blenders over the decades? I don’t drink blended whisky but it surely must have a valid part in the whisky pantheon especially as a lot of Distilleries owe their existence in the past to blends.
Most people drink JW red in a cocktail. You’re not going to want an expensive whiskey in a mixed drink. It’s cheap and okay. It’s not for sipping that’s for sure.
When I visited Scotland, I did the JW Experience in Edinburgh. I was confused because I did enjoy it but knew everything they were talking about was a lot of fluff and bs.
Im sorry Ralfy; but you do sound like a judgemental snob? Just because someone is drinking a blended whisky in a bar, doesn't mean they are some kind of alcoholic, trying to get pished!
JW Red was the first Scotch that I ever purchased when I turned 21 and began working in a liquor store. It still fills the bill with soda on the rocks. The price has certainly increased since the late 70's but that goes for a lot of spirits since that time.
also my first. actually, it was my first purchase of alcohol altogether - mostly, I just drank it with Coke. It tastes like water to me neat and on its own.
@@robfut9954 I came to scotch almost the same way that I did to coffee - as a child, my parents got me used to coffee by mixing coco with it until they had gradually taken all of the coco out and I was drinking black coffee. With cheap scotch and soda, I have done the same for whisky.
Surly ralfy is the BEST ralfy LOL!! It's like bleeding out, from a thousand tiny punctures, brought on by a fencing foil. LOL The choice of Scotch was just a vehicle to facilitate a good old-fashioned ass-whipping of the trite, pub crawling clones. And I love it. JWB in colored glass and a spotlight. Sublime... LOL
My father worked for the firm who imported thousands of tons of maize ( corn ) from the USA for the Distillers co ltd ( owners of JW KILMARNOCK ) for their column still whisky . In Kilmarnock we always referred to the striding man.
@@grbadalamenti For many years their slogan for the striding man was “ Born 1820 still going strong” After 190 years the one time largest bottling plant in the world closed. The town was devastated as generations of the same family worked there.
Due to import fees and the price of scotch in the US, I've taken to drinking more American whiskey, so I, unfortunately watch less from the bothy. But I thought I ought to check in on the channel. Happy I did. Slainte!
File this under: Best of Ralfy! Outstanding, sir. However, let me say that I am fairly new to Scotch, coming from the bourbon, rye, and Texas whiskey world. Single malts, at first, tasted bland and metallic to me. I then switched to blends, and JWRed was my first. After half a bottle over several weeks, it finally clicked with me. It tasted and smelled of the Texas Gulf Shore. I was nosing and tasting the salt breeze, seaweed, sea water... and I loved it. JWRed was the first Scotch I came to appreciate. I have moved upward and onward in my journey, but I still love JWRed neat.
Nothing against cocktails, but I´d rather use some good quality bourbon than this for my favourite whisk(e)y sour. It´ll be way better spirit for the same money.
I find red label has a buttery texture that is not unpleasant, but your harshness is justified. For a fraction of the price, I can get much more enjoyable Canadian blends, or for just a few dollars more, get a decent single malt - Auchentoshan and Singleton are regularly on sale and they are a steal.
In the last couple of weeks Crown Royal has released its first ever single malt whisky in Canada and the US. I just tried it yesterday. Almost immediately I found myself wondering "What would Ralfy think of this? What would his review be like?" I think he might like it. It is NOT light and sweet. It is a bit of a beefy malt, with the "bitters and sours" Ralfy tends to go for. 45% ABV. I hope Ralfy will review it whenever it turns up in the UK.
OMG the E-150 in the Johnny Walker Red is literally blinding me, but truthfully could never take it seriously when an unnamed publication rated it higher than a non chill filtered 18 yo Glendronnach Allardice. What excellent and entertaining review Ralfy! Cheers!
I think you'd have a little more sympathy for the cheap scotch drinker in Australia when you see the astronomical we are charged down here. Love your work Ralphy.
No point in over analyzing and ripping Johnny Red apart. Those who buy it know what it’s for and so do the producers. If you’re buying it and looking for a transcendental experience then that mistake is on you. It’s a mixer, a sipper on ice if you aren’t picky, or something to shoot. I don’t ever buy it, but I’m glad it exists.
The a Scottish whisky industry makes be sick 😮having worked at three major whisky industry bottling plants on a Zero hour con😢tract. During 2023. Not good . Things need to change in the industry.
Johnny Walker red and Black label was Winston Churchill’s favourite whiskey. He would drink almost a bottle daily, if anyone drank like him no one be able to work. You would be shit faced by noon.
In the US it's even "more honest-er" :) As per US law, all spirits younger than 4 years are required to have an age statement. So JW Red proudly sports an inscription (hidden on back label in small print): "age 3 years". In my observation JW Red is a glaring example of what whisky rules assure - an absolute bare minimum of perfunctory parameters (3 years of age in oak, 40% abv). I guess I'm ok with governments or other entities making sure the stuff isn't dangerous, but they tend to go overboard even with that, i.e. fresh (aka "raw") milk. Laws and rules are not what assures quality or integrity. IMHO.
My first whisky was JW Black over 30 years ago, and I used to drink it with ice. I tried JW Red back then too, in a bar, and wasn't impressed at all. Never had it since. Cheers!
Yes, it's definitively for people who wants a bit of alcohol in their soda. Personally, this kind of whiskey is for me just ethanol, I do not taste more (maybe, my tongue remember my young men days ^^'). Anyway, little question to a whisky connaisseur : A friend of mine give me (as a gift) a bottle, I can't find this here, maybe you know : the lakes N°5. If you already try it and have a review, I'm curious. It taste strange for me (brown sugar I guess), so I'm looking around for honest reviews. And thanks for your videos ! It helps !
Come on Ralfy; don't hold back so much. LOL As an aside I came back a week ago from 3 weeks in Asia. First a week in Singapore in the high rent district of Orchard Road. I wandered through several 'nice' Whisky shops looking for a decent bottle to take onward to my next stop in Indonesia. All three shops had a wall of Macallan of every iteration and on another wall a high-lighted featured Blue Label in a position of reverence. I even looked down for a prayer rug to kneel upon. There were limited quantities (1) of the usual subjects of the Single Malts; Highland Park, Aberlour, Lagavulin, etc. I did find a shelf with 5 versions of Kilchoman. Several of which were limited releases for that market. That was the choice. There had to have been better shops around, but I quit looking after a very nice Kilchoman attached itself to me. P.s Fifty years ago I was buying JW Black for $4 USD a bottle from the American Embassy Commissary in Santiago, Chile.
I'm no snob, and would give Johnny Walker credit where credit is due if it were at least a good dram for the price - but as it turns out I can't even say that much about it. In my home state in the USA, you could instead get Teacher's (with a rich peaty note), Dewar's 8 Year Old Mezcal Finish (age-stated), Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition (bottled at integrity strength), or Loch Lomond Original (a single-malt) for the same price or less - and with Johnny Walker, which offers none of those benefits, barely being any better in my opinion than the bottom-of-bottom-shelf blends that start at under $20 for a 1.75L jug, the choice is a no-brainer. It seems that Diageo is perfectly content to just coast on past reputations instead of upping the quality of JW Red to at least punch within its weight class - I think Jim Beam and Dewar's White Label are the best of the MASSIVE global alcohol brands in that respect, with the latter having a nice dry, earthy character with hints of dark fruits and little of the simple syrup-like grain whisky sweetness that is often found in cheap blended scotch.
I'm a bartender and I see the exact same people come into the bar as you probably did back in the day, Ralfy. The reason people drink terrible whisky is the same reason they act like idiots at the bar: it's because people are stupid. Just because we're the smartest species on our planet, doesn't mean we're actually intelligent. And I'm fine with that because it means more of the good stuff for me! (and the rest of us whisky enjoyers 😉).
And Furthermore Ralf Wanker - JW Red was the first Scots Whisky I tried - it was also the favorite of Sir Winston Churchill If it tastes good, to whoever is drinking it, then it's good for them So many Whiskies; So Little Time Cheeky wanker, ye are Come and visit. We'll try a dozen or two G'NITE. Douglass
Yet another excellent review from Ralfy in the middle of the Irish sea. I stopped buying this bland disappointment many years ago-the go to now at Keflavík duty free is either Teacher's, Black bottle or Ballantines.
If JW is whisky, then I don't like Whisky. Drank it once and NEVER again. Awful stuff. How do they manage to churn this stuff out amazes me - people actually buy And drink it!
To paraphrase Monty Python, but it's the single most popular scotch in the world! This was my mothers favorite scotch, so I by a bottle every now and then (when it's on sale) and drink it on the rocks, the way she did. I sit and remember when I would visit her and we would have on drink each, watch a TV show, listen to a record or just talk. GRHS! Ralfy, I agree with your assessment, but I have a lot emotion tied up in this scotch, so I will keep drinking it, on the rocks of course. I have been drinking JW since the 70's and have long though that the quality had gone down. Thank you for confirming!
Funny thing is I will mix rum with cola, pickled cherries in vodka, but I have never mixed whisky with anything. Been binge watching your videos with notepad in hand and internet to find what I can get in Canada. Have a good day
I’m picking two things from this Ralphy! First is that red label Johnny Walker makes you grumpy and second Someone from Johnny Walker has kicked your dog!! There are people out there who genuinely like this stuff and you have just made them feel like crap or as grumpy as you are. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'd love to compare a Bells from 40 or 50 years ago to the product they churn out today. I bought a bottle of the new stuff just for old times sake a few months ago, and I honestly could have wept...it was so 'thin' and flavourless.
It is refreshing to watch a whisk(e)y review channel that tells it like it is. Thank you Ralpy. Your point that Johnny Walker is for everyone is akin to Budweiser. A beer that is not offensive to anyone, anyone that does not appreciate a craft beer with flavor and distinction. It is the same with whisk(e)y of any sort. That is what sets the average drinker with the refined palete. Cheers!
I think excess caramel is added for an artificial mature look to fool the uninformed. J&B and Ballantine finest contain less caramel. They also come in coloured glass bottles. In this segment, I prefer Scottish Leader. The blends of today contain less quality malts due to more mass production. Also the house style has changed. A bottle of Chivas Regal from the 1960’s has far better taste. In capitalism, profits come above all else. Excessive competition has destroyed the whisky industry.
I had an opportunity to do a contemporary vs 1980s tasting of Johnnie Black. If I hadn't tasted it for myself, I would have assumed Ralfy is exaggerating here. He isn't. The difference between bottles really is night and day. And it's exactly like he says. The new stuff isn't "bad" at all. It's competent. It's just not interesting. Aficionados can expect to find nothing compelling. The new stuff just isn't meant for us, and that's ok. It's just a business decision.
Comment on the old Red Label being much better - it was all part of the biggest travesty since whenever, in Scotland, that fantastic malts got used to flavour 3 y.o. in blends with other grains, including to my astonishment when I learned of it not long ago, maise ! More or less treated as an addative, an E number to bring out some character. Well over 90 percent of malt went into these blends, and they went price fighting for market share in the late 1970s. Since around 2000 we have seen this travesty again, with no age stated NASty malts. Great barrels being slung into carefully distilled ' scottish vodka' with a tell tale barley sugar note, which they have got better at disguising.
Yes, the Aldi Highland Earl IMO is better than JWR. What a shame industrialisation/ modernisation has resulted in a decrease in quality in this segment of the scotch whisky industry. Greetings from Melbourne.
Back in the 1970's I turned 21 and bought my first bottle of Scotch, JW Red Labe, the label clearly stated "8 years old", and it was as Ralfy says a whole different animal than the current incarnation, it was full flavored, peaty and to my untrained pallette a great bargain, at the time about 7 dollars fifth U.S. Bought a bottle last year for my cellar just to have something for guests that wanted a bit of soda in their scotch, tried to sip it but the stuff is definition of "insipid". a very sad loss of a once great whisky.
My JW Red Label from the 80s is peaty as hell. This is my second bottle from that era and the more it opens and oxidates, the more the peat hits me in the face. I'm still struggling to pick the Clynelish waxiness. Very different from what's in the bottle nowadays.
Thanks Ralfy, I have never tried anything JW makes. Take anything JW makes and for the same money you can get something better. In the U.S. one might as well drink bourbon rather than JW Red.
You know I think everyone has to try it once as a whisky appreciator/enjoyer/connoisseur. How can you know what's bad otherwise? To me it tasted awful. Some kind of awful overpowering solvent smelling slightly smokey swill that wasn't worth the free drink ticket I paid for it. I think you gave it too much credit 😂
I've known quite a few Walker drinkers over the years, they do drink it neat and tend to be baby boomers. They outright refuse to try another whiskey. They look down on malt mates (especially us younger people) and that goes for the Crown crowd and the Dewars bunch. They buy volume not quality.
Not a bottle I'll ever buy. I only drink blended whisky on vacation and its 90% JW black label because of price and availability at the resorts we go to. But in my home strictly single malt.
That stuff isn't even suitable in Coke anymore. I've been on my journey for about 30 years. I enjoy a whiskey and Coke on occasion and I use an NAS Malt. I do mostly drink neat.
I wanna buy a whisky for my brother his birthday. One i think about is theCraigellachie 17 years. You people think it is a good one? And yes, he is known with whiskies.
I can enjoy some crappy whiskys. Because even crappy whiskys have some flavor but man I hate the ones that disappear right away after a sip. It makes you feel robbed =)
I'm really not sure, but it may be that you are starting to almost lean just a little towards leaving us the impression that you are not a fan of the JW line or the Red Label in particular. I may be interpreting you incorrectly, of course, as your opinions are subtle and nuanced when it comes to your view of the sort of consumer that prefers to purchase these products. 😂
I know it's rubbish of course. But to be fair no-one is going to drink JW Red neat. It's always going to be mixed, and you don't want to start doing that to decent scotch.
If single malt whisky had no alcohol, but the same taste characteristics with all the nuances would you really still drink it and watch Ralfy's videos?
Tell us what you really think Ralphy. 😂 Great review/rant. A Ralfy classic!
This is what JW does to a Man.
I was half expecting him to clean his toilet with it 😆.
@@VazzVegas 😂😂😂
Well, damn, I don't know about everyone else but I'm feeling engaged, informed, entertained and in good humour.
It's still insightful even if Red Label isn't my first choice of "buzz inducing liquid". Good single malts are getting very expensive.
The Black Label would be my next pick then
Agreed...some single malts have basically doubled in price since the pandemic in the states. Paying $70-80 for the same thing I used to buy for $40 in 2020.
Yup, even my two everyday malts, Laphroiag 10 and Bunnahabhain 12, have made me sip slower these days with the upward price creep...
Love a good ole Ralfy Rant!!!! I wouldn't even put this in a cocktail. I'll drink the Green label, but I draw the line there. Cheers!
Good gracious me Ralfy....I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw you were review JW Red! 😲. However as always, you meet the E.E.E.H. criteria and that in itself is an integrity presentation. Meanwhile back on the single malt trail.....😌😼.
If you are watching and are offended, you are on the wrong channel. Life is about quality, not quantity. Well done Ralfy
I bought a bottle of black and used it for weed killer. Only time I ever poured one out. Horrible
Wait what…? Red label? Well JW Black and soda is my go to when having happy hour events for work doesn’t get me intoxicated I don’t need to think and just drink without a care when I don’t have time for deep dives. There’s a place for JW.
The last time I had JW Red label was in rural Iowa, where it was the best on offer. I purchased a bottle and carried it by bike with some of my father’s ashes for about 60 km. I left the ashes at my grandparents’ graves and drank my father’s memory with a group of friends. The whisky did the trick, but I always wished I’d been able to find a single malt for the occasion.
Have you seen the ad some marketing student made for JW? It would probably resonate with you and it's absolutely beautiful. Look up "dear brother johnnie walker".
Diageo ran an advertisement for JW Black with a very similar plot!
There are SO MANY whiskey review channels and they all do the same thing: speak about the same notes in every single pour, and act like they're surprised every now and then. Thank you for being unique and educating
25 thousand people have watched this video and only 1500 people have ticked the like button. If you want more Ralfy videos please tick the ''like'' button when you watch his videos. Show some support please if you could. It costs you nothing and keeps the channel going. Thanks, Adam.
I loved everything about this review. I laughed out loud about the Blue Label and Macallen comments. Wonderful job Ralfy!
I appreciate him continually calling out the obvious (but not to all) decline of JW Green label as well.
@@VazzVegas Green used to be excellent, but it still is, probably, the best JW offers. They do have special editions of Blue, which are bottled in the mid-fifty percent ABV range. I really wish that they would do some special editions of Green Label, non-chill filtered and higher ABV, but I doubt that will ever happen. Too bad.
@@johnandrus3901 They have the Island Green, which is a Duty Free exclusive and not much more expensive. It was one of the first Scotches I ever bought and I remember loving it. I need to get myself another one to see if it's still the same quality.
Saying people's lifes are meaningless just because they drink JW bluelabel is pretty harsh. I'd say they just don't know any better. That's all. And you can't really blame them, you can only educate them. Marketing is and always will be a powerful tool.
You make some good points and I would like to add one of my own. The seemingly pretentious folks who can be enthralled by marketing can very well not know any better, but my observations tend to make me think that many of them are willfully ignorant and don’t care about anything other than what other people think of them. I don’t want to be so presumptuous as to put myself in a position of judging others because a disinterested observer could never know everything that motivates others, although rampant superficiality can be very telling if it pervades an entire lifestyle.
You could equally damn the ever growing ‘connoisseurs’ who watch Ralfy et al then look down their noses at those who don’t understand the holy trinity, 46% ABV and above, NCF and no added colour. (And no doubt wishing they were able to afford a Lamborghini).
A neighbor has a 28 year old bottle or JW Red that is astoundingly different. It is actually pleasant to drink. So very different! I also thought it was a single malt! Totally different!
It doesn't age in the bottle
I was pointing out that 28 years ago Red was a different and better juice! Having both was an interesting comparison.
@@jenmac287 - Wow....
I've had the same thing drinking 80s era Black Label. Totally unrecognisable to today's whisky.
Blended whiskey isn't what it used to be, vast production has taken over, overused casks and deliberate blandness,or as they like to call it, smoothness.
Love it! But what I learned at my photography academy is that when you capture people walking to the left, they walk home, to a safe place. When people walk to the right, they go out of their homes and on an adventure :) That trick is used heavily in marketing and commercials :)
good answer
Interesting hidden gem❤
What a joke. How would that even be?
@@evenbiggerboss Just think of a man walking to the left, and what it makes you feel. Then do the same with a person walking to the right. Then look at all the photos you see in advertising, and your eyes will see :)
This is the explanation i’ve heard as well. Going right is leaving and going left returning psychologically atleast. Loved Ralfy’s theory as well.
The comments about other people and their preferences are pathetic. Stick to whiskey, which you are better at.👎
We appreciate the real talk Ralfy man . Massive respect as always.
Here in Germany you could by a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label for 10.99 EUR when it is heavily discounted in the supermarket.
Cheerio and slainte mhath
P.S. You are a snob, Ralfy. This is the reason why we love you.
Yes indeed, I bought one from Edeka for 10 € a couple of days ago (to mix with Ginger Ale and fresh lime).
I had a bottle once, lasted for several years of cleaning fishing reels.
Interestingly I have a JW Islay edition 12 year blended malt @ 42%. It is acceptable on its own but I been halving it with Cutty Sark Prohibition at 50% and weirdly they become very good. The JW was about £35 for a litre.
i need to try that
Thank you for this. This got me smiling.😀
Early into this video I thought "Oh, this is different, Ralfy must be reaching out to new viewers." Then the story of his early and brief days as barman came out. Classic Ralfy and true to form. Great stuff.
Last year at the bar I work for:
Bar manager: "We're finally getting a scotch!"
Me, a Ralfy subscriber: "Fantastic! Which one??"
Manager: "JW red!"
Me: "Oh no.....no no no NO...."
It sounds like you work at a bar that didn't have ANY scotch before that. How is it possible that a bar didn't have even a single scotch?
@@richardbostan4286 Maybe it's a juice bar.
@@richardbostan4286 It's a VERY small, barebones speakeasy-style bar.
@@barlotardy What alcohol DID you have before you took the "radical step" of branching out into scotch? By the looks of it you could list the whole menu in a RUclips comment.
@@passengersplace 10 basic liquors, 6 beer taps, and two wines....from a box.
(2 bourbons, 1 irish whiskey, 1 gin, 3 vodkas for some reason, 2 rums, one tequila.)
It's not much, but it pays the rent.
You know classic whisky cocktails like manhattans, old fashioned, whisky sours, gold rushes to name a few is what led me onto my whisky journey. So for me there's nothing wrong with cocktails in my opinion. Thank you for the review Ralfy, all the best. 😊🥃
My dad's favorite drink was an Old Fashioned. He grew up during Prohibition, so he liked the one with the muddle, which was used to make the whiskey taste better during that time. My parents would make Whiskey Sours, for guests, which always went over quite well. I still enjoy an Old Fashioned fairly often and Rob Roy's, too, which are Scotch Manhattans. Cheers!
@johnandrus3901 The old fashioned is an absolute classic. Definitely helped me understand and enjoy whisky. So many different whisky cocktails to enjoy. All part of the journey. I find myself enjoying single malts nowadays but I'll have to try a rob roy now you've mentioned it! Cheers to you and good health. 🥃🥃
Ahhh JW RL. An absolute staple of the average bar and supermarket shelf. Goes beautifully with ice cubes or coke 😉
Hmmn. Big fan Ralphy but it seems a bit ott to suggest that everyone who drinks blended whisky does it to get “pished”! What about the “quality”blends (Chivas, Dimple Pinch, Monkey Shoulder etc) and the skill of blenders over the decades? I don’t drink blended whisky but it surely must have a valid part in the whisky pantheon especially as a lot of Distilleries owe their existence in the past to blends.
Well, I for one drink blended to get pished.
Most people drink JW red in a cocktail. You’re not going to want an expensive whiskey in a mixed drink. It’s cheap and okay. It’s not for sipping that’s for sure.
Hope you have sold yer Lhamborghini..stopped holidaying in Dubai,and avoid Macallan!😂
As boring as the whisky is, the review was not.
When I visited Scotland, I did the JW Experience in Edinburgh. I was confused because I did enjoy it but knew everything they were talking about was a lot of fluff and bs.
Im sorry Ralfy; but you do sound like a judgemental snob?
Just because someone is drinking a blended whisky in a bar, doesn't mean they are some kind of alcoholic, trying to get pished!
Sure you’re not🤣
JW Red was the first Scotch that I ever purchased when I turned 21 and began working in a liquor store. It still fills the bill with soda on the rocks. The price has certainly increased since the late 70's but that goes for a lot of spirits since that time.
also my first. actually, it was my first purchase of alcohol altogether - mostly, I just drank it with Coke. It tastes like water to me neat and on its own.
And this is why it’s important that cheap basic scotch exists. And if JW want to advertise it to bring more to scotch then that’s a service to scotch
@@robfut9954 I came to scotch almost the same way that I did to coffee - as a child, my parents got me used to coffee by mixing coco with it until they had gradually taken all of the coco out and I was drinking black coffee. With cheap scotch and soda, I have done the same for whisky.
A classic rant for sure.
Had an 80s black label a few years back. Really nice.
Surly ralfy is the BEST ralfy LOL!!
It's like bleeding out, from a thousand tiny punctures, brought on by a fencing foil. LOL
The choice of Scotch was just a vehicle to facilitate a good old-fashioned ass-whipping of the trite, pub crawling clones. And I love it.
JWB in colored glass and a spotlight. Sublime... LOL
My father worked for the firm who imported thousands of tons of maize ( corn ) from the USA for the Distillers co ltd ( owners of JW KILMARNOCK ) for their column still whisky .
In Kilmarnock we always referred to the striding man.
I read that there is no more production of JW in Kilmarnock
@@grbadalamenti For many years their slogan for the striding man was “ Born 1820 still going strong”
After 190 years the one time largest bottling plant in the world closed.
The town was devastated as generations of the same family worked there.
Due to import fees and the price of scotch in the US, I've taken to drinking more American whiskey, so I, unfortunately watch less from the bothy. But I thought I ought to check in on the channel. Happy I did. Slainte!
I prefer single malt, but some American whiskies are good but expensive here in Sweden. About $46 for a 700 ml Wild Turkey 101 Proof.
File this under: Best of Ralfy! Outstanding, sir. However, let me say that I am fairly new to Scotch, coming from the bourbon, rye, and Texas whiskey world. Single malts, at first, tasted bland and metallic to me. I then switched to blends, and JWRed was my first. After half a bottle over several weeks, it finally clicked with me. It tasted and smelled of the Texas Gulf Shore. I was nosing and tasting the salt breeze, seaweed, sea water... and I loved it. JWRed was the first Scotch I came to appreciate. I have moved upward and onward in my journey, but I still love JWRed neat.
Nothing against cocktails, but I´d rather use some good quality bourbon than this for my favourite whisk(e)y sour. It´ll be way better spirit for the same money.
I find red label has a buttery texture that is not unpleasant, but your harshness is justified. For a fraction of the price, I can get much more enjoyable Canadian blends, or for just a few dollars more, get a decent single malt - Auchentoshan and Singleton are regularly on sale and they are a steal.
In the last couple of weeks Crown Royal has released its first ever single malt whisky in Canada and the US. I just tried it yesterday. Almost immediately I found myself wondering "What would Ralfy think of this? What would his review be like?" I think he might like it. It is NOT light and sweet. It is a bit of a beefy malt, with the "bitters and sours" Ralfy tends to go for. 45% ABV. I hope Ralfy will review it whenever it turns up in the UK.
OMG the E-150 in the Johnny Walker Red is literally blinding me, but truthfully could never take it seriously when an unnamed publication rated it higher than a non chill filtered 18 yo Glendronnach Allardice. What excellent and entertaining review Ralfy! Cheers!
My request for you to review JW Island Green 43% abv
I think you'd have a little more sympathy for the cheap scotch drinker in Australia when you see the astronomical we are charged down here. Love your work Ralphy.
You recon they will jack the price up on this off the back of this review ? 😂
JW Blue label, to me is the ultimate Scotch for people that don’t like Scotch
Great comment ! I must commit that to memory.
Well you got a lot off your chest here Ralfy. 😂
No point in over analyzing and ripping Johnny Red apart. Those who buy it know what it’s for and so do the producers. If you’re buying it and looking for a transcendental experience then that mistake is on you. It’s a mixer, a sipper on ice if you aren’t picky, or something to shoot. I don’t ever buy it, but I’m glad it exists.
The a Scottish whisky industry makes be sick 😮having worked at three major whisky industry bottling plants on a Zero hour con😢tract. During 2023. Not good . Things need to change in the industry.
Johnny Walker red and Black label was Winston Churchill’s favourite whiskey. He would drink almost a bottle daily, if anyone drank like him no one be able to work. You would be shit faced by noon.
In the US it's even "more honest-er" :) As per US law, all spirits younger than 4 years are required to have an age statement. So JW Red proudly sports an inscription (hidden on back label in small print): "age 3 years". In my observation JW Red is a glaring example of what whisky rules assure - an absolute bare minimum of perfunctory parameters (3 years of age in oak, 40% abv). I guess I'm ok with governments or other entities making sure the stuff isn't dangerous, but they tend to go overboard even with that, i.e. fresh (aka "raw") milk. Laws and rules are not what assures quality or integrity. IMHO.
Is72 the lowest number you have?
I called 63 on this one. But I bet he doesn’t have a number below 70, or if he needs to he’ll make one up for the occasion.😉
My first whisky was JW Black over 30 years ago, and I used to drink it with ice. I tried JW Red back then too, in a bar, and wasn't impressed at all. Never had it since. Cheers!
Yes, it's definitively for people who wants a bit of alcohol in their soda. Personally, this kind of whiskey is for me just ethanol, I do not taste more (maybe, my tongue remember my young men days ^^').
Anyway, little question to a whisky connaisseur : A friend of mine give me (as a gift) a bottle, I can't find this here, maybe you know : the lakes N°5. If you already try it and have a review, I'm curious. It taste strange for me (brown sugar I guess), so I'm looking around for honest reviews.
And thanks for your videos ! It helps !
Come on Ralfy; don't hold back so much. LOL As an aside I came back a week ago from 3 weeks in Asia. First a week in Singapore in the high rent district of Orchard Road. I wandered through several 'nice' Whisky shops looking for a decent bottle to take onward to my next stop in Indonesia. All three shops had a wall of Macallan of every iteration and on another wall a high-lighted featured Blue Label in a position of reverence. I even looked down for a prayer rug to kneel upon. There were limited quantities (1) of the usual subjects of the Single Malts; Highland Park, Aberlour, Lagavulin, etc. I did find a shelf with 5 versions of Kilchoman. Several of which were limited releases for that market. That was the choice. There had to have been better shops around, but I quit looking after a very nice Kilchoman attached itself to me. P.s Fifty years ago I was buying JW Black for $4 USD a bottle from the American Embassy Commissary in Santiago, Chile.
ralfy, enjoyed this episode, especially your take on being a bartender.
Red Label in Tom Price in the Pilbara (Outback Australia 🇦🇺) is the ultimate luxury. Count your blessings 🙏🏼✝️🙌
Ralfy: I just discovered your channel. I viewed your assessment of Loch Lomond 12 and now JW Red. Can’t express how much I appreciate your commentary.
I'm no snob, and would give Johnny Walker credit where credit is due if it were at least a good dram for the price - but as it turns out I can't even say that much about it. In my home state in the USA, you could instead get Teacher's (with a rich peaty note), Dewar's 8 Year Old Mezcal Finish (age-stated), Cutty Sark Prohibition Edition (bottled at integrity strength), or Loch Lomond Original (a single-malt) for the same price or less - and with Johnny Walker, which offers none of those benefits, barely being any better in my opinion than the bottom-of-bottom-shelf blends that start at under $20 for a 1.75L jug, the choice is a no-brainer. It seems that Diageo is perfectly content to just coast on past reputations instead of upping the quality of JW Red to at least punch within its weight class - I think Jim Beam and Dewar's White Label are the best of the MASSIVE global alcohol brands in that respect, with the latter having a nice dry, earthy character with hints of dark fruits and little of the simple syrup-like grain whisky sweetness that is often found in cheap blended scotch.
I'm a bartender and I see the exact same people come into the bar as you probably did back in the day, Ralfy.
The reason people drink terrible whisky is the same reason they act like idiots at the bar: it's because people are stupid.
Just because we're the smartest species on our planet, doesn't mean we're actually intelligent.
And I'm fine with that because it means more of the good stuff for me! (and the rest of us whisky enjoyers 😉).
And Furthermore Ralf Wanker - JW Red was the first Scots Whisky I tried - it was also the favorite of Sir Winston Churchill
If it tastes good, to whoever is drinking it, then it's good for them
So many Whiskies;
So Little Time
Cheeky wanker, ye are
Come and visit. We'll try a dozen or two
G'NITE. Douglass
Yet another excellent review from Ralfy in the middle of the Irish sea. I stopped buying this bland disappointment many years ago-the go to now at Keflavík duty free is either Teacher's, Black bottle or Ballantines.
If JW is whisky, then I don't like Whisky. Drank it once and NEVER again. Awful stuff. How do they manage to churn this stuff out amazes me - people actually buy And drink it!
To paraphrase Monty Python, but it's the single most popular scotch in the world! This was my mothers favorite scotch, so I by a bottle every now and then (when it's on sale) and drink it on the rocks, the way she did. I sit and remember when I would visit her and we would have on drink each, watch a TV show, listen to a record or just talk. GRHS! Ralfy, I agree with your assessment, but I have a lot emotion tied up in this scotch, so I will keep drinking it, on the rocks of course. I have been drinking JW since the 70's and have long though that the quality had gone down. Thank you for confirming!
Funny thing is I will mix rum with cola, pickled cherries in vodka, but I have never mixed whisky with anything. Been binge watching your videos with notepad in hand and internet to find what I can get in Canada. Have a good day
I’m picking two things from this Ralphy! First is that red label Johnny Walker makes you grumpy and second Someone from Johnny Walker has kicked your dog!!
There are people out there who genuinely like this stuff and you have just made them feel like crap or as grumpy as you are. 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I'd love to compare a Bells from 40 or 50 years ago to the product they churn out today. I bought a bottle of the new stuff just for old times sake a few months ago, and I honestly could have wept...it was so 'thin' and flavourless.
It is refreshing to watch a whisk(e)y review channel that tells it like it is. Thank you Ralpy. Your point that Johnny Walker is for everyone is akin to Budweiser. A beer that is not offensive to anyone, anyone that does not appreciate a craft beer with flavor and distinction. It is the same with whisk(e)y of any sort. That is what sets the average drinker with the refined palete. Cheers!
I think excess caramel is added for an artificial mature look to fool the uninformed. J&B and Ballantine finest contain less caramel. They also come in coloured glass bottles. In this segment, I prefer Scottish Leader. The blends of today contain less quality malts due to more mass production. Also the house style has changed. A bottle of Chivas Regal from the 1960’s has far better taste. In capitalism, profits come above all else. Excessive competition has destroyed the whisky industry.
I had an opportunity to do a contemporary vs 1980s tasting of Johnnie Black. If I hadn't tasted it for myself, I would have assumed Ralfy is exaggerating here. He isn't. The difference between bottles really is night and day. And it's exactly like he says. The new stuff isn't "bad" at all. It's competent. It's just not interesting. Aficionados can expect to find nothing compelling. The new stuff just isn't meant for us, and that's ok. It's just a business decision.
There are worse examples of Scotch whisky. I'm looking at *YOU* Haig Club.
after too many drinks, i can hold it together almost as well as Ralphy. BUt he is he king
Comment on the old Red Label being much better - it was all part of the biggest travesty since whenever, in Scotland, that fantastic malts got used to flavour 3 y.o. in blends with other grains, including to my astonishment when I learned of it not long ago, maise ! More or less treated as an addative, an E number to bring out some character. Well over 90 percent of malt went into these blends, and they went price fighting for market share in the late 1970s. Since around 2000 we have seen this travesty again, with no age stated NASty malts. Great barrels being slung into carefully distilled ' scottish vodka' with a tell tale barley sugar note, which they have got better at disguising.
Yes, the Aldi Highland Earl IMO is better than JWR. What a shame industrialisation/ modernisation has resulted in a decrease in quality in this segment of the scotch whisky industry. Greetings from Melbourne.
Back in the 1970's I turned 21 and bought my first bottle of Scotch, JW Red Labe, the label clearly stated "8 years old", and it was as Ralfy says a whole different animal than the current incarnation, it was full flavored, peaty and to my untrained pallette a great bargain, at the time about 7 dollars fifth U.S. Bought a bottle last year for my cellar just to have something for guests that wanted a bit of soda in their scotch, tried to sip it but the stuff is definition of "insipid". a very sad loss of a once great whisky.
My JW Red Label from the 80s is peaty as hell. This is my second bottle from that era and the more it opens and oxidates, the more the peat hits me in the face. I'm still struggling to pick the Clynelish waxiness. Very different from what's in the bottle nowadays.
Thanks Ralfy, I have never tried anything JW makes. Take anything JW makes and for the same money you can get something better. In the U.S. one might as well drink bourbon rather than JW Red.
You know I think everyone has to try it once as a whisky appreciator/enjoyer/connoisseur. How can you know what's bad otherwise? To me it tasted awful. Some kind of awful overpowering solvent smelling slightly smokey swill that wasn't worth the free drink ticket I paid for it.
I think you gave it too much credit 😂
I picked up a few old bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label on action a while back... it was a vastly superior product thirty and more years ago.
I've known quite a few Walker drinkers over the years, they do drink it neat and tend to be baby boomers. They outright refuse to try another whiskey. They look down on malt mates (especially us younger people) and that goes for the Crown crowd and the Dewars bunch. They buy volume not quality.
You seem to know a lot about Ferrari drivers and their meaningless lives..... I didn't expect this coming from you Ralfy
Not a bottle I'll ever buy. I only drink blended whisky on vacation and its 90% JW black label because of price and availability at the resorts we go to. But in my home strictly single malt.
That stuff isn't even suitable in Coke anymore. I've been on my journey for about 30 years. I enjoy a whiskey and Coke on occasion and I use an NAS Malt. I do mostly drink neat.
I agree, JW Red is good for only 1 purpose. Getting drunk! Plus, the price is also abhorrent for what you receive.
Red Label was actually a decent peaty little whisky 20 odd years ago....Nothing wrong with drinking it neat with a bit of ice back then.
I wanna buy a whisky for my brother his birthday. One i think about is theCraigellachie 17 years. You people think it is a good one? And yes, he is known with whiskies.
Last weekend I tried a 1990s Bells and Chivas Regal both 12 yr. old and the were also 43 ABV. These were sensational compared to todays versions.
In Japan at a specialist bar I tasted black label from 70s, 80s, 90s side by side. Couldn't taste a significant difference.
The Budweiser of scotch (I assume, but I’ve never actually tried any JW).
I can enjoy some crappy whiskys. Because even crappy whiskys have some flavor but man I hate the ones that disappear right away after a sip. It makes you feel robbed =)
I won a bottle of JW red from 1980 something, in auction.
I had to cancel it due to ridiculous shipping costs.
How about reviewing the New Crown Royal Single Malt Canadian Whiskey.
Headed to Scotland next year. Hoping to visit Islay. I was wanting to visit Ardbeg. Any other ideas?
Making all the friends in his video huh Ralfy? One wonders how many days in the pub YOU got through without getting hit in the face 😂
I'm really not sure, but it may be that you are starting to almost lean just a little towards leaving us the impression that you are not a fan of the JW line or the Red Label in particular. I may be interpreting you incorrectly, of course, as your opinions are subtle and nuanced when it comes to your view of the sort of consumer that prefers to purchase these products. 😂
The Truth sometimes Hurts.
But it also Teaches. Be Well and Thank You Kindly ☮️
I know it's rubbish of course. But to be fair no-one is going to drink JW Red neat. It's always going to be mixed, and you don't want to start doing that to decent scotch.
in communist Romania pre 1989 a bottle of Johnnie Walker was a treasure that could get you a one way ticket out of the country.
For a cocktail you also need good whisky @ralfy, it makes a lot of diffrence, also I like from time to time a highball with peated whisky!
If single malt whisky had no alcohol, but the same taste characteristics with all the nuances would you really still drink it and watch Ralfy's videos?
U da man that for sure! If you were cunning an egos driven you would make a good politician… Fortunately you prefer to present malt reviews ❤