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A special extension of the Johnnie Walker range, King George V celebrates the first Royal Warrant granted to John Walker and Sons Ltd to supply Scotch whisky to the British Royal Household in 1934, and is apparently designed to recreate how JW might have tasted back in the day. Some Port Ellen has been used, alongside Cardhu, Lochnagar and some very old grain whisky.
Ladle of Contents
King George Johnnie Walker Review:
Colour: Golden amber.
Nose: Crushed primroses, marzipan and oak. Very sweet, and very smoky. A slight bitter aftertaste.
Palate: Sweet and smoky up front, with a more oak-smoked aftertaste towards the back half. After a few sips, the sweetness of the dram is subdued a little, and some oak and grass oakiness begin to take the reins.
Finish: The oak comes back through the finish, along with a fair quantity of peat smoke (from what I can tell, none has been added though). The sweetness of the dram remains strong and the finish is long and warming.
Comment: A good, traditional whisky – sweet, with a certain warmth to all of the flavours.
Highly recommended.
King George Johnnie Walker Review 1:
Nose: Fruit salad, sherbet and sherbert.
Palate: Sherbet and berries.
Finish: Long, with a little warmth in the aftertaste.
Comment: One for the malt fans!
Drink Review – Johnnie Walker Red Label | Red Label Johnnie Walker | Red Label | 100ml
A very straightforward whisky, constructed for Johnnie Walker by Diageo’s Speyside Distillery, this whisky sees a blend of different whiskies from across the distillery’s facility, with malts from each age category (peated, unpeated and grain) dominating. Some of the more subtle, lighter peated whiskies have been used, with just a tiny hint of smoke.
Johnnie Walker Red Label Review 2:
Colour: Light and bright gold.
Nose: Honey, honeycomb, toffee and notes of fruit. A light smokiness and some camphor and pine resin are also present.
Palate: Honey, lemon marmalade and pepper, which give this a slight savoury angle. Pine sap is quite prominent, along with some nuttiness. It finishes dry, with lots of lemon balm and lemon grass.
Finish: Medium length, with lemon balm and pepper coming through in the first few moments of the dram. The citrus character comes through in the final moments.
Comment: Not particularly complex and doesn’t appear to be all that peated (perhaps just a hint), but it makes for a very tasty dram.
King George Johnnie Walker Review 3:
Colour: Gold, with a hint of pink.
Nose: Apple, honey, lemon balm, lemon oil, apple cordial and bitter chocolate.
Palate: Honey again, caramel, honeycomb, apples and cinnamon.
Finish: Short but sweet, with lemon balm, banana and some peaches.
Comment: It’s all in the nose, which is quite deceptive and the palate isn’t really all that fruity. The finish is quite sweet, but the citrus is certainly evident with a lot of lemon balm and lemon oil.
King George Johnnie Walker Review 4:
Colour: Yellow gold.
Nose: Cardamon, oak, almonds and lemon balm.
Palate: Honey, lemon balm and, again, a honeycomb.
Finish: The aftertaste contains a hint of honey and citrus, while the finish itself really is quite short, with lemon oil and lemon balm.
Comment: This is sweet, honey-driven whisky, which I quite like. It’s not complex and its not hugely peaty, but it’s very tasty and honey-driven.
King George Johnnie Walker Review 5:
Colour: Golden amber with a hint of pink.
Nose: Peat. Salty, almost briny notes.
Palate: Salty and peppery, with a slight nuttiness in the background.
Finish: This drink doesn’t last very long at all, but it’s quite tasty, with some honey and lemon balm, along with a sharp, peppery note.
Comment: No peat, but this is a very good, drinkable dram. The salinity is quite pronounced and, while it has a fairly short finish, the plum notes are strong. A nice, simple yet very tasty dram.
King George Johnnie Walker Review 6:
Colour: Gold.
Nose: Sherbet, caramel and honey.
Palate: Salty caramel, with a hint of menthol.
Finish: Short, with lots of honey.
Comment: This is a very sweet dram, with a lot of citrus and a strong menthol base. The aftertaste is still very strong with menthol and vanilla.
King George Johnnie Walker Review 7:
Colour: Gold in the glass.
Nose: Salty caramel with lemon, lemon balm and a hint of cocoa.
Palate: Salty and slightly bitter, with notes of citrus, honey and menthol.
Finish: Short, with menthol, honey and a touch of peat.
This is very drinkable, but all of the elements of the palate are at odds with each other, and make for a drink that makes you question whether you really like it. It’s not bad, but it’s certainly not complex and makes it hard to get a handle on the dram.
