Johnnie Walker Blue Label: Scotch Whisky Review

Blue Label is the pinnacle of Johnnie Walker's line of Scotch. Only one per 10,000 Scotch barrels produced by spirits company Diageo makes the cut for this blend—and the group makes 11 million casks per year. After carefully tasting Blue Label over a few weeks and talking to the world’s top whisky experts, including Johnnie Walker's master blender, I developed a new appreciation for it that I'll carry for life.

Introduced in 1992 as Johnnie Walker’s first luxury whisky, Blue Label is a relative youngster for a brand with roots stretching back to 1820. But over the past 32 years, it has achieved worldwide fame and appreciation.

What makes Johnnie Walker Blue Label so special? A combination of factors: extremely fine whiskies, thoughtful blending procedures honed over generations, flavors that appeals to both whisky connoisseurs and newbies alike, and visually stunning bottles. But there's much more that adds to this special Scotch brand's undeniable magic.

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Overall Impressions of Johnnie Walker Blue Label

• Bottom Line: Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a blend of some of the oldest and rarest Scotch in the world, enlivened by the addition of younger whiskies that together create a wholly delicious bottle.

• Type: Blended Scotch whisky

• Proof: 40 percent ABV, 80 Proof

• Age: No age statement

• Appearance: Deep copper

• Nose: Peppery, mentholated, vanilla

• Mouthfeel: Coating, oily, dense, cooling

• Taste: Dried fruit, honey, maritime, beeswax

• Finish: Long, peppery, dry

Related: The 15 Best Scotch Whiskies of 2024

Pros and Cons of Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Review

I reached out to Scottish whisky expert and author Charlie Maclean to learn what someone deep in the Scotch world thinks. I half expected him to say Johnnie Walker Blue Label was overhyped. Instead, he spoke with admiration, if not outright awe.

He recalled a conversation with Johnnie Walker's former master blender, Jim Beveridge, who told him Blue Label had "gestalt," another word for character—a whisky greater than the sum of its parts. Which makes sense, as its made by blending whiskies from multiple historic Scotch regions, combining smoky, maritime notes of Islay Scotch with fruit flavors from Speyside Scotch, for example.

Maclean first tasted Blue Label at Bar Lipp in The Continental Hotel in Oslo, Norway. Rock star David Bowie walked in with a date, sat at the bar, and ordered a Blue Label, neat, with a side of ice water. Maclean learned two important things that day. One, drinking Blue Label with a side of ice water enhances the experience. And two, it wasn't really David Bowie. But that uncanny resemblance made Maclean pay careful attention to the doppelgänger's whisky and the way he drank it. Maclean describes his first sip as "a revelation" and "an epiphany." He described the experience over email, saying he enjoyed the "... balance of freshness (wild raspberries, light fudge) and maturity (dense, fugitive perfume, like old ladies' handbags, musk, furniture polish)."

I don't have Maclean's mental lexicon for flavor. But I sipped on Blue Label after hearing his story and reflected on my first time drinking it—very different than his. On a first-class British Airways flight I'd bought with miles, I ravaged the honor bar as we soared over the Atlantic. But I enjoyed it all the same.

How to Drink Johnnie Walker Blue Label

Maclean's David Bowie imposter was onto something with ice water. Chilling the palate suppresses receptors on the tongue that register temperature and texture, and as a result, enhances the viscosity of the drink. Maclean says some other great whiskies are triggered by ice water to the same degree as Blue Label, but not many.

So, for my tastings, I poured a dram of Blue Label neat in a Glencairn glass with a side of ice water. At 40 percent ABV, I didn't need dilution from ice to make this enjoyable to drink. And I didn't need to "open it up" like with older whisky, which, similar to vintage wine, requires aeration or a few drops of water to release the full character of aroma and flavor. Blue Label has the depth of aroma and flavor at first sip because the younger spirits in the blend enliven the older ones.

By nosing and sipping neat, then refreshing my palate with cold water between sips, I experienced the complex flavors and the rich mouthfeel of the whisky to their fullest. It has a precise equilibrium of sweetness, acidity, and dryness, a long finish, and a texture Maclean describes as "velvety." Not only is Blue Label delightful on its own, but due to its balanced flavor, it pairs well with both sweet and savory foods.

While Islay influence does exist in the whisky, it’s so subtle that it's not considered a peated blend. Likewise, for those who prefer the clear, woody influence of specific secondary cask finishes—such as sherry, bourbon, or rum casks—none stand out. Blue Label is an extraordinary choir without a soloist: a consistent experience that harmonizes the best notes from all of Scotland. By those standards, Blue Label is the best blended Scotch out there.

History of Johnnie Walker Blue Label

John Walker was a grocer in 1820s Scotland who sold local single malts in his shop. Finding these whiskies to be inconsistent, he began creating his own blends to ensure that every bottle he sold was a good one. His son, Alexander, took over the enterprise after his father died, and created their first commercial blend in 1867, called Old Highland Whisky. The iconic slanted label was introduced when the whisky was registered—a precise 20-degree angle—to better stand out on shelves, along with the square bottle design. However, when Walker convinced Scottish ship captains to distribute his whisky around the world, the square bottles allowed more bottles to ship with less breakage.

Over 200 years since it began, John became 'Johnnie' through the affections of time and success. His namesake is now the world's bestselling Scotch whisky. (To see the history of Johnnie Walker in an impressive single shot commercial, check out this video starring Scottish actor Robert Carlyle.)

Maclean explains that Blue Label was the successor to a now-extinct blend called Johnnie Walker Oldest, first released in 1987. Blue Label was released four years later, in 1992. Both the bottle and blend are a nod to the original Old Highland Malt. In 1993, just a year after Blue Label's introduction, the International Wine and Spirits Competition awarded it a gold medal in the Best Blended Whiskey category.

"The launch of Johnnie Walker Blue Label created a new level of luxury for spirits and helped get consumers interested in drinking ever rarer whiskies," says Noah Rothbaum, whisky expert and author.

"From the outset, it was positioned at the very pinnacle of the deluxe market in terms of its price and packaging," says Maclean, "The latter is supremely tasteful, unlike some deluxe whisky bottles which look more like over-sized perfume flasks, the bottle for Blue Label was cast from a 19th century Johnnie Walker bottle mold in pale green flint glass, with a stopper cork and a little lead seal on the neck. The typography and style of the label was likewise inspired by 19th century Walker bottles, and each one is numbered."

"It was Johnnie Walker's step into the world of luxury, but a step into the world of luxury without any age statement," says Emma Walker, the brand's current Master Blender, pointing out that to achieve luxury without any reliance on an age statement was at the time—and in many ways still is—a bold statement in and of itself.

How Does Johnnie Walker Make Blue Label?

Walker says that only one in 10,000 casks is good enough for Blue Label—but what does that mean? It's not as simple as one whisky being older than the rest. Barrels are tasted as they mature, and some have more potential than others. A keen blender will notice this like a talent scout at a little league game and keep her eye on certain barrels. Over their lifespan, these casks develop into standouts. And eventually, those superstar barrels make the Blue Label big leagues.

Walker, who worked on Blue Label for years before becoming the master blender across the entire rainbow of offerings, describes the process as bringing together different flavors, different maturation styles, and different parts of Scotland to create something wholly unique.

"We’re combining whiskies that are highly aged, really old, that have a smoothness and sweetness, with younger whiskies that help to open that up," she says. The result is a an intense but vibrant whisky. "It's got an energy,” says Walker. "Some whiskies that are 21-plus years old, you have to nurture them to open them up, but Blue Label comes to meet you and firmly shakes you by the hand."

When Johnnie Walker sets out to blend a new batch of Blue Label, the distiller first creates an in-house 'gold standard' reference point blend. It has to match the quality of the previous year's reference Scotch, even though they're using different whiskies to arrive at the same destination.

Walker says she blends whisky from a variety of Diageo distilleries to make Blue Label, including Benrinnes and Cardhu in Speyside, Caol Ila and Port Ellen in Islay, and grain whisky from Cameronbridge. But it's never the same every year. "We still will never tell you exactly which distilleries," says Walker, because she has to remain flexible across the company's inventory.

"We are still blending in the same way we were 100 years ago," says Walker, explaining that they create sub-blends that form the larger blend. One sub-blend will be dedicated to the Sherry notes, for example. "Our inventory is like a living, breathing animal that changes from minute to minute," says Walker. "There's new spirit going into it, and there's whisky always going out of it, so how do we maintain that consistency with a base that is changing all the time?"

While the flagship Blue Label is tied to the gold standard flavor profile, there are interesting diversions that Johnnie Walker releases in limited quantities. Walker recently created a new version of Blue Label called Elusive Umami, which she developed with Japanese chef Key Kobayashi. Chef Kobayashi wanted to create the sense of "walking in a forest in the mountains early in the morning, the forest floor, the trees, the petrichor smell of sunshine after a rain," says Walker. Maritime notes from Talisker Scotch, she says, helped her achieve this.

"Even though I've been doing this for nearly 16 years," says Walker, "it still feels like it's a magic trick that we do this, and it works."

If You Like Blue Label, You'll Also Like…

Compass Box Ultramarine

If you want to gift something harder to find, look for Compass Box Ultramarine. Bottled at an ABV of 51 percent, it's a blend of rare whiskies is inspired by the antique Sherry and pipe tobacco notes of a deluxe blended Scotch, first released in the late 1980s. Sound familiar?

Dewar's Double Double 21 Year Old Mizunara

If you like strong wood characteristics in an ultra-smooth whisky, Dewar's 21-Year Mizunara undergoes a cask finishing in Japanese Mizunara oak casks, which add flavors of sandalwood and vanilla. It's also packaged in a cool, giftable bottle.

Chivas Regal 18-Year

If you want a high-age statement with good value, Chivas Regal 18-Year is rich, balanced, and a different shade of 'blue label.' It's a blend of 20 single malt whiskies, all at least 18 years old. For the price, it offers remarkable value.

Why You Should Trust Me

I've been writing about bars, cocktails, and spirits for 16 years—and, before that, I bartended for more than a decade at Hollywood's legendary Chateau Marmont Hotel. In one way or another, I've been employed in the realm of booze since the turn of the millennium.

Scotch whisky has a special place in my heart. To better understand it, I have made three trips to Scotland, visiting distilleries in different whisky producing regions to meet and interview the people who dedicate their lives to making it.

Related: We've Tasted Hundreds of Whiskeys. These Are the Best in the World