If there’s one word to describe the Scotch whisky industry right now it’s diversity. When it comes to expressions available, new releases, and new flavours/styles being developed and marketed, diversity is the name of the game at present.
Of course, amongst the community of whisky drinkers, most of these diverse pursuits focus on the single malt category, but neither can the blends afford to be caught standing still. In this respect, the Johnnie Walker stable has been growing and expanding significantly. If you thought the Johnnie Walker range consisted of Red, Black, Green, Gold, and Blue Label, then you’ve not kept up with the times.
It was a little earlier this year that the Johnnie Walker 10yo “Rye Cask Finish” got released. Whisky & Wisdom was reasonably impressed with this bottling – not just because it explored new territory in flavour and style, but because it actually delivered and was an enjoyable dram. You can read W&W’s thoughts on that release here.
Hot on the heels of that release, Johnnie Walker announced a new product line: The Blenders’ Batch. Heralded as a series of limited edition, experimental releases, the Blenders’ Batch seeks to unveil the results of the numerous experiments and research into whisky flavours being undertaken by the Johnnie Walker blending team. That may sound trite on the surface, but dig deeper and you learn there is genuinely some interesting stuff taking place behind the scenes. The whisky creators are playing with and adjusting parameters such as the atmospheric conditions during maturation, the types of wood and grain used, cask finishes, and – of course – simply blending all these variables in new and untried ways.
This is all the more impressive, because research and experiments in whisky can take a long time to play out. Put some new make spirit into a new cask-type for maturation, and it can take eight to ten years to learn if the notion was a success. So when new releases come out in 2016, one needs to be mindful that the spark of inspiration and its foundations may well have been laid back in 2006.
The first release in the Blenders’ Batch series is the Red Rye Finish. Naturally, the team doesn’t give too much away, but the word is that the whisky has an unusually small number of component malt and grain whiskies (relative to most blends), including grain from Port Dundas – which was closed and demolished in 2011. More interestingly, the whiskies used were drawn exclusively from 1st Fill ex-bourbon casks, and then married and finished for up to six months in ex-rye casks.
The whisky has certainly caught the attention of the on-premise trade, and it’s been spotted as a key ingredient in some impressive whisky cocktails in Sydney’s leading restaurants and whisky bars. A Scotch that displays traits of American whiskey was always going to be attractive to the mixologists out there!
But for those that simply like their whisky neat and unadorned, how does the Red Rye Finish stack up? Whisky & Wisdom sat down with a bottle and put it through its paces:
Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch: Red Rye Finish
Nose: Hints of American oak and balsa wood. Leather, spices, and red currants. And, believe it or not, yes, the nose is not too far removed from that of a rye whisky. The aromas are oak driven, and less about malt, citrus, or sweetness. Quite alluring…
Palate: The body and mouthfeel is a little thin, but the spiciness and zest of the rye cask influence is front and centre. Despite the use of 1st-Fill bourbon casks, the dram is not overly sweet, and one suspects the grain whisky here is wheat rather than corn. The bottling doesn’t have an age statement, and the palate suggests a younger profile.
Finish: Drying and medium in length.
Comments: In a sense, this whisky achieves exactly what it sets out to do – it is an entirely different style of Johnnie Walker, and bears little resemblance to the more familiar Red and Black Labels. In fact, it pushes the boundaries of Scotch in general, straying well into the spices, dryness and oak-driven characteristics of American and rye whiskies. Taken neat, the whisky is light and aperitif in style.
Interestingly enough, the press kit for this whisky extols the virtues of the whisky as a mixer and for use in cocktails. Its versatility in that regard is clearly evident. And, to quote Emma Walker, one of the Johnnie Walker blenders responsible for creating this expression, “We made this Scotch to make great cocktails and we’d love for you to experiment too.” As a dram to enjoy straight, it’s perhaps best served over ice as a refreshing summer drink.
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As mentioned at the start, the blends need to keep innovating and developing to remain in the limelight and maintain their appeal. In a market where the consumers’ attention span appears to be getting increasingly shorter, the Blenders’ Batch looks to be a fascinating vehicle in bringing new whiskies to the market. One also assumes that, for the experiments that prove to be a great success, we’ll see one or two of these become permanent staples.
Cheers,
AD
You can read other reviews of Johnnie Walker’s whiskies by Whisky & Wisdom by clicking on the links below:
Johnnie Walker Select Casks – Rye Cask Finish
Johnnie Walker 18yo
Johnnie Walker Blue Label – Ghost & Rare Brora
Johnnie Walker Black Label – Sherry Edition
Johnnie Walker Blue Label – Ghost & Rare Port Ellen
