Johnnie Walker Black Label Triple Cask Edition Review


“Where There’s No Smoke, There’s No Fire"

Whisky Review # 771

Country: Scotland
Brand: Johnnie Walker Black Label Triple Cask Edition
Type: Blended Scotch Whisky
Age: NAS
Alcohol By Volume (ABV): 40%
Maturation: A Mix of Casks used to mature Bourbon, Scotch and Caribbean Rum
Chill Filtration: Yes
Price Range: US$ 40-50 ( November 2018)
Buying Advice: 😒 Weak and Thin. Indifferent Wood. Negative P/Q ratio.

Colour:

Light Golden (Artificially Coloured)

Nose:

Light and Sweet. Strong influences of Dusty Refill Oak and Grain Alcohol. A bit of Rum but not a whole lot. Disappointing!

Main Aromas:

Toasted Cereals, Grain Alcohol, lightly Buttered Toast, Toffee, Salted Caramel, Brown Sugar, Straw, Refill Oak, Dried Fruit like Figs, Plums and Apricot, Nuts and Nut Shells, Dusty Road and Cinnamon.

Supportive Aroma Accents:

Vanilla, Orchard Fruit (Pear and Green Apple), Pineapple, Sugared Orange Peel, a touch of Smoke, Heather-Honey, Pepper, Ginger and Menthol.

Blair Athol
Palate:

Weak, Thin, Peppery and Sugary Sweet.

Main Flavours:

Sugared Breakfast Cereals, Toffee, Salted Caramel, Brown Sugar, Dried Prunes, Dirty Earth, Refill Oak, Cinnamon, Pepper and Licorice.

Supportive Flavour Accents:

Vanilla, Heather-Honey, Smoke and Ashes, Orange, Dried Herbs and Cardamom.


Finish:

Short, Bitter-Sweet and Dry with Toasted Cereals, Toffee, Salted Caramel, Grain Alcohol, Refill Oak, Dried Prunes, Orange, Nutshells, Vanilla, Dirty Earth, a bit of Smoke and Ashes, Pepper, Cinnamon, Licorice, Weak Black Tea and Dried Herbs.

Drinking Advice:

Added Water transforms this JW in a weak Black Tea.

Rating: 77.5

Nose: 20 - Taste: 19 - Finish: 19 - Overall: 19.5

Drinking Experience:

Borderline Okay (Neat) - Okay (On the Rocks).

Conclusion:

This Limited Edition was released in May 2018 as a Travel Retail only. It's made with around 70% of Grain Alcohol produced by Cameronbridge and around 30% of Malt Whisky from Cardhu, Strathmill and Blair Athol. I don't understand why this Triple Cask was released as a Black Label as it hardly contains any Smoke. It should have been released as a Red Limited Edition and at a lower Price level! But that's not the way big business works of course. I am a long time fan of JW Black but I am really disappointed with this Triple Cask edition. It's Sugary Sweet and Thin. Lots of 3rd and 4th Refill Oak and minimum Rum influence.  A negative Price/Quality ratio. I can't recommend this and I'm glad it's a limited edition only.

Jan van den Ende                                                               November 1 , 2018

Cardhu Distillery

8 comments:

This web site is for sale said...

I agree completely. Hard to believe JW would put out such a mediocre product. Waste of money.

Jan van den Ende said...

Thanks for your comment! Totally agree with you! Cheers, Jan.

Unknown said...

Really disappointed, I thought would be better than a double black, it loses body with ice, totally agree that should have been Red Label

Jan van den Ende said...

Thanks for commenting. Please leave your name next time. In any case we agree on this one! Cheers, Jan.

Unknown said...

If you are new to whiskey its a great entry into the world of whiskey. Easy to drink, and taste is delicious. Agree that the bottle should been labeled as red and not Black.

Jan van den Ende said...

Hi there, thanks for commenting! Please leave your name next time! Glad you like this Triple Cask. I can't say I did though. I vastly prefer the standard Black!
Cheers!
Jan

Kam Bhathal said...

I have been a Black Label fan for many decades. However, recently, I had an adverse experience which forced me to switch from Johnnie Walker to Glenfiddich. I bought a 1.75L bottle of Black Label form a well known liquor store in Calgary. On consuming a couple of drinks I noticed a suspicious looking residue starting near the lid down to the body of the bottle. I sent pictures to Johnnie Walker customer service, asking for advice. They promised a response within 24 However, my repeated requests for clarification have gone unanswered. I am highly disappointed at this lack of response from JW. Myself and my drinking buddies have switched to Glenfiddich 12 years old, which I find much smoother and satisfying. So Long Johnnie Walker! RIP! Has anybody else had similar experience with Johnnie Walker customer service? Would be interesting to know. Perhaps they think they are too big to care!

Jan van den Ende said...

Hi Kam, thanks for your extensive information. Fortunately I never had any problems with JW so there was no need to contact their customer service. I hope someone will react to your message though!
Cheers!
Jan