The Johnnie Walker family has a new member and it comes in a pretty attractive bottle.
Platinum Label sandwiches in between the Gold Reserve and Blue Label. You’ll know this because the heights of the bottles tell the story, should you be lucky enough to have a set on your shelf.
It has been developed to connect with the emerging palates of Asia and give them a new option, and probably take a tilt at the Chivas led legacy in many of those Eastern locales. They’ve used the heritage of the Johnnie Walker Private Blends, a practice of small batch blends for special customers and venues as a jumping off point as well, and you can see the presence on the neck and badge, and taste it in the blend as well.
You’ll get plenty of citrus, in a liquid that lends itself to experimentation and cocktails. It’s pretty heavy on Speyside in the blend, so if you’ve felt some love there before this one is probably worth checking out.
The profile can come off a little flat as it nestles in a glass on its own. Add a splash of water and you’ll be rewarded with a more open whiskey and somewhat surprisingly, a lift in the presence of the trademark Walker smoke and a pleasant salted caramel.
It’s well worth picking up if you’re looking for an easy drinking, exceptionally crafted whisky that you can roll into any time of the day or night.
While it might be a few more days that you’ll have to wait to find a bottle in the wild. $85 will get you one in SYD duty free, should you be lucky enough to be departing this fair isle. RRP outside of duty free will be around $129
Everyday Drinking 