Johnnie Walker Platinum Review



“No Heavy Metal”

Country: Scotland
Brand: Johnnie Walker Platinum
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Age: 18 Years
ABV: 40%
Date: 03/04/2014

Colour: Amber

Nose: Light, almost transparent. It's not bad but not very exciting either. I find Toasted Cereals, Malt, Nuts, Oak, Dried Apricot, Lemon Peel, Banana, Orange Marmalade, Toffee, Caramel, Butterscotch, very light Spices, Dried Herbs, light  Smoke and hints of Espresso, Candied Cherries, Peaches and Salt. The Alcohol is not fully integrated. It reminds me a little bit of the old JW Gold but somehow it seems more fragile, less confident.

Taste: Thin and slightly Watery Delivery with Grain Alcohol, Caramel, Toffee, Wax, slightly Bitter Oak, Resin, Orange, Dried Herbs, light Honey, light Smoke and a pinch of Salt.

Finish: Short, Clean, Sugary Sweet at first but quickly Drying. Doesn't show a lot of character here. I find Nuts, Caramel, Toffee, Orange, slightly Bitter Oak, light Smoke, light Spices and hints of Menthol and Cinnamon. 

The Johnnie Walker Platinum does not improve with added Water. It's best enjoyed over a little Ice.

Rating: 83

Nose: 21.5 – Taste: 20 – Finish: 20.5 – Overall: 21


General Remarks: The Johnnie Walker Brand is owned since 1997 by the Diageo Group. As you will probably know the Green and Gold were recently discontinued while the Gold Reserve and the Platinum were added to the range. 
The Platinum costs around a 100 US Dollars and sits price wise between Black and Blue. Platinum contains 20-25 Single Malts, mainly from Speyside, as well as some selected Grain Whiskies. All of them matured for at least 18 years.

Drinking Experience Neat: Okay/Good

Drinking Experience on the Rocks: Good 

Conclusion: Slightly better than JW Double Black but no match for the old Gold and Green. The standard Black has a much better price/quality ratio and the Blue, while better, is too expensive for what it offers. The packaging of the Platinum is very sophisticated but the Blend misses Power and Character. The low ABV only reinforces these shortcomings. It's not interesting enough as a sipping Whisky and simply too expensive to drink over Ice. Back to Black for me!

Jan van den Ende                                                                 April 2014

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