I'm a Kilmarnock man born and bred , my whisky buddy is a johnnie walker geek . He goes out to visit johnnie's grave with a blue label on his birthday every year and was becoming alarmed at the state of disrepair it was in, went to the local paper, contacted Diageo with photo's etc to try and get something done about it but wasn't getting anywhere .Eventually he gave the photos and info to a friends sister who works for Diageo and she made enough noise about it that Diageo eventually paid to have his grave restored with new fences and paths etc im pretty sur ethey didnt even no where the grave was or that it even existed . I really enjoy the older green label with the striding man going the opposite direction to what he faces now lovely blend . Blue label is also good but way to expensive for what it is .
That’s a shocking story but glad to hear your mate made enough of a fuss to get it sorted! I need to try more of the old school stuff myself, haven’t done enough of a deep dive unfortunately
How about an episode where each of you guys take your top 3 whiskey of that moment with you. Or something like an oesh episode every 3 months with the time of the year in mind. (spring, winter, summer, autumn)
Ah thanks for tuning in Amy! I still haven’t been - maybe we could arrange to do some content with you? Give me a good excuse to get over to you all and experience it myself 🥃🥃
Feel free to come! There’s so many experiences / tours as well as the bar and retail where there’s Johnnie Walker and Diageo products! I’m WhiskAmyAway btw ☺️
We were in Edinburgh with friends for a surprise birhday trip for my wife. I booked us all on the JW experience and everyone enjoyed it - my wife is not a whisky fan but still enjoyed the tour. Its a brilliant malternative to a typical whisky themed event (see what I did there Ralfy!). Love your podcasts chaps keep em comin!
Visited princess street in February, amazing place the staff are really helpful, many whisky’s tasted. Purchased the Celebratory blend, looks great in the collection.
Ian is taking the words out of my mouth when it comes to the Celebratory Blend. I'm fine with the sweetness of it all, despite wanting some more complexity, but I also get an unpleasant bitterness on the finish. Possibly from tired, overused casks?!
A lot of time spent finding reasons to drink expensive Blue Johnnie Light Walker IMO Ok a special mention to Green Label you were right. Cocktail stuff or special expensive bottles ….. IMO a waste of money there are plenty of alternatives. I liked the review guys even if I don’t appreciate the liquid keep on the good work 👍
Great podcast as always gents! In regards to flipping the direction of the walking man, in cinematographic shorthand characters travelling to the left of screen are returning home, whilst those heading to the right are heading out to adventure. I believe it is to do with that. Continuing forwards into the future.
Ah, well done James! Great explanation and further knowledge for me to cling on to moving forward - I’ll be using that! Appreciate you tuning in and supporting us as ever 🥃🥃 sláinte
I did Journey of Flavour at Johnnie Walker Princes Street. Loved every minute and thought it was great value for money. Another great episode guys, loving your content
Thanks for tuning in Brian, really appreciate the support. I can’t wait to get over to Princes Street! Everyone I’ve spoken to says it’s a cracking experience
Alright going for a walk for this walker special. Looking forward to finding out your favorites. Have not tried that many myself. Fun fact: the direction of the walking man indicates of it's pre or post millenium.
@@TheWhiskyBaron Green label definitely, but also had a 70s black sourced from japan that was delicious. Great episode, the red, don't even mention it anymore.
@@TimHoekstraI need to get my hands on some of these old school black labels - think I’ve only tried one from the 90s. Also keen to try an old red label after what Ian said, although sure to avoid the new releases!
nice episode, never had a johnnie walker. ive got the turntable track 1, 2 , 3 blends open and they are very good, but pricy at retail. got them very cheap at auction, gone try to get an old johnnie at auction, and a green at the shop when on offer
Well gents, I started my peated scotch journey 2 years ago with the green label which I didn’t particularly like. I noticed that after sitting on the self it’s easier to drink now. My son bought me another bottle, not knowing I already had one that was half full. We tried them both to see the difference and it was amazing. The older bottle was much better and it seems not as sharp tasting neat. I’m guessing with 2 years on the self the oxidation mellowed it. I like it very much now. Kilkerran 12 year is now my favorite peated scotch. Great review, Rob
If you haven’t already been you should pop along to The Piersland House Hotel in Troon. It was Alexander Walker’s home and they have some interesting Johnnie Walker memorabilia and bottles.
Great lineup, I think you hit all the important JWs here. Kind of inspired to get a green label just for introducing guests to scotch...haven't had it for a few years though, the price here in Canada is a little offputting. Cheers fellas!
This is a great episode. History, tastings, a nice range of whiskies nipped. I listen on my way to work. What do you guys think of Loch Lomond Distillery? Would love to hear you guys’s thoughts on Loch Lomond even if it’s just another Bowmore episode!
Just a note there is also an XR23 now as well, not sure if it’s any good but I was happy enough with the XR21. For what it’s worth the Double Black would be my pick out of the core range, think it’s significantly better than the black to the point it justifies its existence.
9:14 You mentioned you live in Ayr and sometimes drive through Kilmarnock, you may or may not know this but the Walker Family, as in the ancestors of Johnnie Walker, actually stay at Newark Castle just outside Alloway, nothing to do with Whisky any more but still the family. You also mentioned about why the walking man was flipped around this was done just before the Millennium as walking left to right was seen as walking forward into the new era, walking right to left is seen as walking away from something.
You should really try a side by side of JW - red 1960s; black 1960s; pure malt (old green) and that blue bottle vs modern JW equivalents. Chalk and Cheese - just imagine the Black containing 1950s and 1960s distillate; If you enjoyed those drams today your mind might be blown......
I’ve visited Clynelish and Royal Lochnagar and enjoyed particularly the former but would be far less likely to visit now it’s become Walkerfied. More likely to try certain JWs having watched this but still not convinced I need a bottle of any of it….
Really enjoyed this one, another great episode! I work at Glenkinchie, and similar to what Stevie said about Caol Ila, around 90% of Glk stock goes to Johnnie Walker as well.
@@TheWhiskyBaron Absolutely - really good place to visit too! I'm a guide at the distillery. Love taking people around and introducing them to the place and the Drams! Some pretty good stuff up in the warehouse!
@@KageWilson oh wow, what a great job! If you’re ever open to us visiting and creating some content with you please let us know - we’ve got some great distillery tour content booked in this year but we’re always keen to do more
@@TheWhiskyBaron That sounds amazing! Let me see what I can do! - I'll find out what the scope is etc and drop you a message when I get some info back!
I happened upon this and was really surprised! Personally I love Blue, but the "integrity" crowd get very upset. Anything that doesn't fit their religious beliefs, especially fruit of the Diageo devil, has them foaming at the mouth. Its very unusual to hear people on RUclips actually discuss JW, most just tell you why you shouldn't buy it and what you should buy instead. Great work, I'll be subscribing!
I think the JW Blue is grossly overpriced, low ABV and for the money I can get far better quality. I bought the green tonight and I was enormously disappointed. It's $115 before taxes in Canada and for that I'd easily prefer to grab an Ardbeg Ten, a Lagavulin 8 or a Laphroaig. The Green Label really didn't come close to higher quality expressions and I realize it's just my opinion. I would never touch the Red Label. I recently tried the JW Black for the first time and to be honest the rough edges seemed a bit better but mostly I would only use it as a mixer. I wouldn't ever buy the Green again and I would never buy the Blue again, Based on my experiences I will just leave JW and stick with single malts that I really enjoy, higher end, and look to the types of expressions I am more likely to enjoy. The cashier in the liquor store raised his eyebrows when I was buying the Green Label tonight and I think it's because he knows what I like, what I buy and I don't think he is a fan and I just find that I'm not either. I don't have a desire to put out a lot of money on expressions between the Green and the Blue. I think once someone knows quite a bit about high end scotch it's would be impossible to view Blue Label as the pinnacle of scotch! The beauty of scotch is that we all have different palettes! I respect everyone's palettes but having been so disappointed with the Green and frankly, the Blue, I just don't have a desire to bother with buying more. There is so many outstanding expressions out there. I do prefer peated scotch with huge complexity and I also love superb speysides. I did enjoy hearing your preferences here and I respect them! My favourite is the Lagavulin 16 as a sentimental fave and some of the more complex Lagavulins and I also adore all the Islay scotch and really I am willing to try anything! There's some amazing distilling! Kilchomen of course and Talisker as well! Getting up to 30 year old Islays and some other older scotch beyond 30 years old is fantastic! Cheers!! 🙂
I'm a Kilmarnock man born and bred , my whisky buddy is a johnnie walker geek . He goes out to visit johnnie's grave with a blue label on his birthday every year and was becoming alarmed at the state of disrepair it was in, went to the local paper, contacted Diageo with photo's etc to try and get something done about it but wasn't getting anywhere .Eventually he gave the photos and info to a friends sister who works for Diageo and she made enough noise about it that Diageo eventually paid to have his grave restored with new fences and paths etc im pretty sur ethey didnt even no where the grave was or that it even existed . I really enjoy the older green label with the striding man going the opposite direction to what he faces now lovely blend . Blue label is also good but way to expensive for what it is .
That’s a shocking story but glad to hear your mate made enough of a fuss to get it sorted!
I need to try more of the old school stuff myself, haven’t done enough of a deep dive unfortunately
Interesting story and well done on the efforts of your friend and the lady employee. Good to hear that Diageo put things right.
It was a shame when they moved production out of Kilmarnock. Something like the JW experience would have been a great draw for the town and the area…
@@edfriday7709agreed! There should be more in the area - something we may very well be working on here at The Whisky Baron..
@@TheWhiskyBaron my friend has a few of older bottles your welcome anytime for a dram Jake slainte!
How about an episode where each of you guys take your top 3 whiskey of that moment with you. Or something like an oesh episode every 3 months with the time of the year in mind. (spring, winter, summer, autumn)
We’ll bare it in mind and see what we can get rolling for you Mark 🥃🥃 sláinte
Such a great suggestion 👌🏻
Ahoy guys! I work at JW princes street. I’m so happy about this episode ☺️
Ah thanks for tuning in Amy! I still haven’t been - maybe we could arrange to do some content with you? Give me a good excuse to get over to you all and experience it myself 🥃🥃
Great to hear Amy!
Feel free to come! There’s so many experiences / tours as well as the bar and retail where there’s Johnnie Walker and Diageo products! I’m WhiskAmyAway btw ☺️
@@whiskamyaway thanks Amy! We’ll ping you a message privately to see if we can arrange something special to share with our audience 🥃🥃 sláinte
We were in Edinburgh with friends for a surprise birhday trip for my wife. I booked us all on the JW experience and everyone enjoyed it - my wife is not a whisky fan but still enjoyed the tour. Its a brilliant malternative to a typical whisky themed event (see what I did there Ralfy!). Love your podcasts chaps keep em comin!
Visited princess street in February, amazing place the staff are really helpful, many whisky’s tasted. Purchased the Celebratory blend, looks great in the collection.
Can’t wait to get down there myself! Great to hear everyone has had such amazing experiences. Sláinte Chris 🥃
Ian is taking the words out of my mouth when it comes to the Celebratory Blend. I'm fine with the sweetness of it all, despite wanting some more complexity, but I also get an unpleasant bitterness on the finish. Possibly from tired, overused casks?!
Quite possible - they’re producing such vast quantities of liquid that not everything can be in good wood
A lot of time spent finding reasons to drink expensive Blue Johnnie Light Walker IMO Ok a special mention to Green Label you were right.
Cocktail stuff or special expensive bottles ….. IMO a waste of money there are plenty of alternatives.
I liked the review guys even if I don’t appreciate the liquid keep on the good work 👍
Interesting Pierre - not a fan of the black then? Thanks for tuning in and glad you enjoyed it all the same 🥃🥃 here’s to better alternatives!
Great podcast as always gents! In regards to flipping the direction of the walking man, in cinematographic shorthand characters travelling to the left of screen are returning home, whilst those heading to the right are heading out to adventure.
I believe it is to do with that. Continuing forwards into the future.
Ah, well done James! Great explanation and further knowledge for me to cling on to moving forward - I’ll be using that! Appreciate you tuning in and supporting us as ever 🥃🥃 sláinte
The Princess Street Tour is like Disney World for whisky
Don’t make me jealous Will! Can’t wait to get down there
I work for Diageo in the warehouse side of things based out of Auchroisk, heading to Port Ellen on Tuesday for work. Really exciting times
Lucky! What’s happening at Port Ellen?
I did Journey of Flavour at Johnnie Walker Princes Street. Loved every minute and thought it was great value for money. Another great episode guys, loving your content
Thanks for tuning in Brian, really appreciate the support. I can’t wait to get over to Princes Street! Everyone I’ve spoken to says it’s a cracking experience
Alright going for a walk for this walker special. Looking forward to finding out your favorites. Have not tried that many myself.
Fun fact: the direction of the walking man indicates of it's pre or post millenium.
Let us know what you think! Great JW knowledge - think I mention that at some point in the pod. What’s your favourite of the ones you have tried?
@@TheWhiskyBaron Green label definitely, but also had a 70s black sourced from japan that was delicious. Great episode, the red, don't even mention it anymore.
@@TimHoekstraI need to get my hands on some of these old school black labels - think I’ve only tried one from the 90s. Also keen to try an old red label after what Ian said, although sure to avoid the new releases!
nice episode, never had a johnnie walker.
ive got the turntable track 1, 2 , 3 blends open and they are very good, but pricy at retail.
got them very cheap at auction,
gone try to get an old johnnie at auction, and a green at the shop when on offer
Nice one Erwin! Need to explore of the vintage stuff myself but you can’t go wrong with the Green! Sláinte 🥃
Cool. I lived in Ayr for 5 years as a youngster.
Lovely area isn’t it!
Well gents, I started my peated scotch journey 2 years ago with the green label which I didn’t particularly like. I noticed that after sitting on the self it’s easier to drink now. My son bought me another bottle, not knowing I already had one that was half full. We tried them both to see the difference and it was amazing. The older bottle was much better and it seems not as sharp tasting neat. I’m guessing with 2 years on the self the oxidation mellowed it. I like it very much now. Kilkerran 12 year is now my favorite peated scotch. Great review, Rob
If you haven’t already been you should pop along to The Piersland House Hotel in Troon. It was Alexander Walker’s home and they have some interesting Johnnie Walker memorabilia and bottles.
Thank you!! ❤❤
Great lineup, I think you hit all the important JWs here. Kind of inspired to get a green label just for introducing guests to scotch...haven't had it for a few years though, the price here in Canada is a little offputting.
Cheers fellas!
This is a great episode. History, tastings, a nice range of whiskies nipped. I listen on my way to work. What do you guys think of Loch Lomond Distillery? Would love to hear you guys’s thoughts on Loch Lomond even if it’s just another Bowmore episode!
Just a note there is also an XR23 now as well, not sure if it’s any good but I was happy enough with the XR21. For what it’s worth the Double Black would be my pick out of the core range, think it’s significantly better than the black to the point it justifies its existence.
9:14 You mentioned you live in Ayr and sometimes drive through Kilmarnock, you may or may not know this but the Walker Family, as in the ancestors of Johnnie Walker, actually stay at Newark Castle just outside Alloway, nothing to do with Whisky any more but still the family.
You also mentioned about why the walking man was flipped around this was done just before the Millennium as walking left to right was seen as walking forward into the new era, walking right to left is seen as walking away from something.
You should really try a side by side of JW - red 1960s; black 1960s; pure malt (old green) and that blue bottle vs modern JW equivalents. Chalk and Cheese - just imagine the Black containing 1950s and 1960s distillate; If you enjoyed those drams today your mind might be blown......
Really need to do the old school black - 90s is as far back as I’ve gone. Sounds like you’ve arranged some fairly serious lineups!
when we hit 10k on IAAS there'll be some serious bottle shares at cost - 44 and 45year old springbanks for instance@@TheWhiskyBaron
60s/70s black is so good for the money 🎉
I’ve visited Clynelish and Royal Lochnagar and enjoyed particularly the former but would be far less likely to visit now it’s become Walkerfied. More likely to try certain JWs having watched this but still not convinced I need a bottle of any of it….
Really enjoyed this one, another great episode! I work at Glenkinchie, and similar to what Stevie said about Caol Ila, around 90% of Glk stock goes to Johnnie Walker as well.
Another great distillery that people seldom hear of! What’s your role at Glenkinchie?
@@TheWhiskyBaron Absolutely - really good place to visit too! I'm a guide at the distillery. Love taking people around and introducing them to the place and the Drams! Some pretty good stuff up in the warehouse!
@@KageWilson oh wow, what a great job! If you’re ever open to us visiting and creating some content with you please let us know - we’ve got some great distillery tour content booked in this year but we’re always keen to do more
@@TheWhiskyBaron That sounds amazing! Let me see what I can do! - I'll find out what the scope is etc and drop you a message when I get some info back!
Does Whisky Baron have any Dailuaine casks, or does Diageo not sell their workhorse new makes anymore? Also another great EP gents
the Jane Walker 10 all malt whisky from 2020 is pretty decent and it was only $27 and almost 43%ABV
Only the Green (all-malt) is worth the price.
Where do you find these auctions? If you can link them here that would be great!
I have a old bottle of johnnie walker swing unopened in the back of the drinks cupboard. I have no idea what it's like. Any of you tried it?
Interesting tasting...found the comment about hindu weddings being different from indian weddings a bit awks😂
What was said?
@dand3798not all Indian's are Hindu!
@@richardkilley6838thank you Richard! So confused as to what is meant to be so awkward here..
Or ‘awks’ - sorry
@@TheWhiskyBaron awks were the baddies in Lord of the rings weren't they? 🤔
Green on Amazon today at £38. Take my money!
I happened upon this and was really surprised! Personally I love Blue, but the "integrity" crowd get very upset. Anything that doesn't fit their religious beliefs, especially fruit of the Diageo devil, has them foaming at the mouth. Its very unusual to hear people on RUclips actually discuss JW, most just tell you why you shouldn't buy it and what you should buy instead. Great work, I'll be subscribing!
Thanks for tuning in Pete and glad you enjoyed it! Looking forward to seeing you on the next one 🥃🥃
I think the JW Blue is grossly overpriced, low ABV and for the money I can get far better quality. I bought the green tonight and I was enormously disappointed. It's $115 before taxes in Canada and for that I'd easily prefer to grab an Ardbeg Ten, a Lagavulin 8 or a Laphroaig. The Green Label really didn't come close to higher quality expressions and I realize it's just my opinion. I would never touch the Red Label. I recently tried the JW Black for the first time and to be honest the rough edges seemed a bit better but mostly I would only use it as a mixer. I wouldn't ever buy the Green again and I would never buy the Blue again, Based on my experiences I will just leave JW and stick with single malts that I really enjoy, higher end, and look to the types of expressions I am more likely to enjoy. The cashier in the liquor store raised his eyebrows when I was buying the Green Label tonight and I think it's because he knows what I like, what I buy and I don't think he is a fan and I just find that I'm not either. I don't have a desire to put out a lot of money on expressions between the Green and the Blue. I think once someone knows quite a bit about high end scotch it's would be impossible to view Blue Label as the pinnacle of scotch! The beauty of scotch is that we all have different palettes! I respect everyone's palettes but having been so disappointed with the Green and frankly, the Blue, I just don't have a desire to bother with buying more. There is so many outstanding expressions out there. I do prefer peated scotch with huge complexity and I also love superb speysides. I did enjoy hearing your preferences here and I respect them! My favourite is the Lagavulin 16 as a sentimental fave and some of the more complex Lagavulins and I also adore all the Islay scotch and really I am willing to try anything! There's some amazing distilling! Kilchomen of course and Talisker as well! Getting up to 30 year old Islays and some other older scotch beyond 30 years old is fantastic! Cheers!! 🙂