Johnnie Walker blue label - worth it?

[Anonymous]

I'm thinking of indulging in an expensive bottle of whiskey and have always wanted to try blue label. Total waste of money? Totally worth it?

I would be open to alternatives if the consensus is that blue lable is just marketed to inexperienced suckers like me.

[Anonymous]

MHO--not worth it. I picked up a bottle at duty free, and I'm utterly bored by it.
Not saying it's not good--I don't think it's a marketing thing for suckers. I just don't think it's THAT good, for the money.

My regular Scotch is the Macallan 12, which you can pick up for about $45. If you want to spend a little more, Lagavulin is very nice and very smoky. A little less, you can get almost the same kind of thing with Laphroiag. Glenmorangie is a good starter single malt, in the 30's range. Glenfiddich and Glenlivet suck.

If you really want to splurge, try the Macallan 18. It's a totally different thing. Smoother, sweeter, no bite at all. It's around 100 last time I checked, but that was a while ago--may be more.

If you like blended, not single malt, Johnny Walker green or gold label will be perfectly nice and not as expensive as the blue. I also hear the Japanese whiskys are nice, but haven't tried them.

[Anonymous]

BTW all of these can be found at the new DC Costco, probably cheaper than your local liquor store. They also had Kirkland single malt, believe it or not. And some luxury high-dollar 25 y.o. that was $650, I think.

[Anonymous]

Totally overrated. I personally think it only exists so that Asian businessmen can overspend on it and impress their clients. DH is Asian and he thinks this, too.

[ThatSmileyFaceGuy]

If you can find it Talisker 18 year old, from the Isle of Skye

[Anonymous]

Ironically, I prefer to the Balvenie 10 to the Balvenie 15. How messed up is that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm thinking of indulging in an expensive bottle of whiskey and have always wanted to try blue label. Total waste of money? Totally worth it?

I would be open to alternatives if the consensus is that blue lable is just marketed to inexperienced suckers like me.

I wouldn't say the blue is marketed to inexperienced suckers, but it is not enough better than, say, the black to be worth it from a bang-for-the-buck perspective. I think the black is the sweet spot for Johnny Walker price vs. performance. If you want to splurge, I would go with 23:27's recommendations, which sound sensible to me as well.

[Anonymous]

Read last week's New Yorker for a great and informative article on scotch and the different kinds.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MHO--not worth it. I picked up a bottle at duty free, and I'm utterly bored by it.
Not saying it's not good--I don't think it's a marketing thing for suckers. I just don't think it's THAT good, for the money.

My regular Scotch is the Macallan 12, which you can pick up for about $45. If you want to spend a little more, Lagavulin is very nice and very smoky. A little less, you can get almost the same kind of thing with Laphroiag. Glenmorangie is a good starter single malt, in the 30's range. Glenfiddich and Glenlivet suck.

If you really want to splurge, try the Macallan 18. It's a totally different thing. Smoother, sweeter, no bite at all. It's around 100 last time I checked, but that was a while ago--may be more.

If you like blended, not single malt, Johnny Walker green or gold label will be perfectly nice and not as expensive as the blue. I also hear the Japanese whiskys are nice, but haven't tried them.

Aside from thinking Laphroiag is a bit too medicinal tasting, personally, these are excellent recommendations. There are frequently specials on the Macallan 15 year old in this area. Also, Oban 14 is a good one to try.

[Anonymous]

Totally overrated. I personally think it only exists so that Asian businessmen can overspend on it and impress their clients. DH is Asian and he thinks this, too.

My inlaws are Asian, very successful in business, and they all love the stuff. Can't get enough. I think that tends to illustrate the point.

[Anonymous]

Try Oban, Highland Park or Scapa. My, oh my, tasty single malts. Johnny Walker anything is for whiskey amateurs.

[Anonymous]

Caol Ila-not for the faint of heart

[Anonymous]

I like green and gold better. Blue is too peaty for me.

[Anonymous]

ThatSmileyFaceGuy wrote:If you can find it Talisker 18 year old, from the Isle of Skye

If you like Talisker, an Island whisky, try Highland Park or Scapa. Highland Park 18 is wow!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:BTW all of these can be found at the new DC Costco, probably cheaper than your local liquor store. They also had Kirkland single malt, believe it or not. And some luxury high-dollar 25 y.o. that was $650, I think. [/quot

Oh stop bragging! Hell will freeze over before Montgomery County Costco sells alcohol.