The Exception or the Rule?

Lots of people asking me when we’re going to start a single barrel Scotch program here at Mission, in line with the program I helped create at my previous employer.

The answer: as soon as we’re ready. Single barrel selections are what I built my reputation on, so it’s a given that I’ll want to dip into that well again ASAP.

That being said, here’s the issue with single barrels that I want more people to understand: when they become the rule rather than the exception, you lose the context within which they gain their value and their meaning.

To give you an example: HBO is an amazing network and it dominates much of my screen time these days. I loved The Undoing. I also very much enjoyed Murder on Middle Beach. Now I’m on to How To With John Wilson. There’s so much good programming to watch just on HBO.

But what happens when I go to a party and everyone’s talking about The Queen’s Gambit on Netflix? I have no context if all I watch is HBO. Hence, I can’t be a part of the conversation and offer an opinion.

Context is everything in the world of wine and whiskey appreciation. If you don’t know what else is out there, then you can’t say for certain whether something is or isn’t worth the money.

It’s the same reason people say traveling is so important for young people; when you have context for the world as a whole, you can better appreciate your situation or what you want out of life.

Single barrels are a fun contrast to the standard marketplace, but what they offer in value and uniqueness they often lack in complexity and nuance. For me, they’re more like educational curiosities and opportunities for exploration than they are polished products.

But there’s more to it than that.

First off, single barrel whiskies are rarely better than standard editions. When I go to Scotland, maybe 10-15% of the barrels I taste are worth looking into. Then it’s about price from that point on.

Second, single barrel whiskies only gain a uniqueness if you have the context from the standard edition.

To give you another example, if you’ve never had the standard Balvenie whiskies, how can you understand if a single barrel edition of Balvenie offers value, or maybe a new and interesting flavor that you can’t get from the standard editions?

This goes back to my initial blog post and how many modern consumers value specs over flavor. People see that Macallan 25 costs $2000, so they get excited about buying a 25 year old single cask for $400.

But they’re not the same thing. They’re not even close.

A single barrel of 25 year old Macallan is a fun experience, but it’s not like you’re getting a $1600 discount on the same whisky.

As an aside, I tasted an older single barrel of Balvenie last week with my buddy David from William Grant. We both agreed it was delicious. But then I tasted the official Balvenie 30 year old edition and wanted to cry because it was so damn incredible. If you’ve never had Balvenie 30 year, it’s one of the best whiskies that money can buy at any price.

In my mind, I’d rather splurge on the 30 than settle for the single barrel. But I have that context, so I can say one way or the other.

The point is: you need to try everything.

-David Driscoll

Two Instagram Live Conversations

You can’t operate in the digital marketing world today without getting on the old Instagram for some live content.

However, much like with politics, there are few things I find less stimulating than watching booze industry people repeat talking points and tow the company line when people want real answers to real questions, so we won’t be doing that.

I told Beam last week we should discuss two subjects people would actually be interested in knowing more about:

1. Wheated Bourbon as a category, rather than just Maker’s Mark.

2. What has changed at Beam over the last few years that has led to a rather remarkable improvement in the quality of their small batch editions?

We’re gonna try and go back-to-back this week, starting tomorrow at 4:30 when I sit down with Phil Olson to talk about wheated Bourbon. Why do people like it so much? What does wheat do to the flavor of Bourbon? Do people actually like it as much as they say they do, or is saying you like wheated Bourbon just a way for insecure guys to look less like Pappy/Weller fanboys?

This all happens tomorrow on Instagram by following @missionliquor and logging in at 4:30 PM PST.

Conversation two is scheduled for Wednesday at the same time, but I’ll confirm tomorrow.

I hope you’ll join us! I’ll do my best to make it fun.

-David Driscoll

Home Bar Report - 12/12/20

Yesterday, my friend Crystal and I were discussing when and when not to talk about your own personal taste while selling wine. As anyone who works in sales knows: wine retail isn’t about selling what you like personally.

Actually, lemme rephrase that.

Anyone who works in sales should know that wine retail isn’t about extolling your own personal taste.

Your job is to help the customer find a wine that fits their personal taste. Period. End of story (yet, how often I see people forget).

That being said, sometimes people do ask what you’re drinking at home. If a customer is interested enough to ask, I’m happy to share with them my own personal purchases. And since some of you have asked me via email, I’m going to share this week’s selections here and now. I bought three things this week for the home bar.

First off, the 2018 Hirsch Bohan-Dillon Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir for $39.99.

I didn’t just buy one or two bottles of this, I bought a CASE. Because pound for pound, dollar for dollar, there is no California pinot noir in the store as good as this. In fact, there’s no pinot noir in the store from anywhere as good as this.

I’m a big Burgundy fan and I love cold climate pinot noir in general. But the problem with Burgundy right now is two-fold:

1. The wine tariffs have added 25% or more to the retail prices.

2. The recent vintages aren’t all that approachable in their youth.

Because I’m neither a Côte d’Or citizen, nor a wealthy entrepreneur, I don’t have a Burgundy cellar full of perfectly aged Bourgogne Rouge to pull from. I go from bottle to bottle, but lately I’ve been somewhat disappointed with the options. The 2018 Hirsch Bohan-Dillon, on the other hand, is far from a disappointment. It’s for Burgundy drinkers in search of something approachable now, or for California drinkers who enjoy acidity and brightness in their reds. This wine is simply electric on the palate; loaded with cranberry, tart cherry, and spice. I can’t get over how good it is and I’ll never get tired of drinking it.

While the Hirsch is indeed an incredible wine, it’s also $40 a bottle. And while I’m always willing to spend to drink well, I don’t have the funds to crush $40 bottles every night. I need something closer to $20 for Tuesday night takeout. That’s where the 2018 Huards Envol Cheverny Rouge comes in: a 50/50 blend of pinot noir and gamay from the Loire Valley that again gives me everything I want from Burgundy, for a price that I can afford; it just happens to not be from Burgundy.

I know many drinkers who love pinot noir and Burgundy, but for some reason shy away from gamay and its juicier flavor profile. Personally, I love Beaujolais, but I wouldn’t use that as a comparison for the Huards. It’s bright and it has lift, maybe even a bit of carbonic action, but it isn’t Beaujolais in its profile. It’s got too much of that classic cherry flavor that you get in something like Marsannay or even Sancerre Rouge. It’s pure red fruit on the palate, never too earthy or acidic, and it has real body to it. I also bought a case of this because the importer is sold out until February.

On the spirits side, I’ve got so many open bottles right now that my only real purchase this week was for the Nachtmann Punk decanter sets that we have at roughly $100 off the standard retail price. For $59.99 you get one decanter and two glasses, each adorned with Riedel-quality rivets, giving it that studded punk rock edge. These are currently $150 on the Riedel website, so I bought four of them. Two to use now (as pictured above) and two in reserve for when I eventually break the two I have currently in use.

Now I just really wanna stay home and watch The Crown.

-David Driscoll

The Customer Is Half Full

Optimism versus pessimism.

Is the glass half full, or is it half empty?

We all know the age old question about personality types and how different people see the world, but did you know that the same question applies to business?

It’s not necessarily something you’re thinking about as a consumer, but it’s definitely what businesses are thinking about you. I spent almost eleven years working retail in the same store, so I only really ever understood one approach: the customer is half full, meaning most people are generally good natured and will return if you treat them well.

That being said, after spending two years on the other side of this business, handling distribution to retailers across California, I can tell you with certainty: there are more retailers who see things the other way. They think the customer is half empty, meaning most people are generally out to screw you, so you need to defend yourself at all times.

It’s a fascinating subject for me because, even though I’ve been on the receiving end of countless negative customer service experiences, I still believe that giving people the benefit of the doubt is the way to go.

Yes, sometimes I lose out in the transaction.

Yes, sometimes people take advantage of my generosity.

Yes, I understand that people think I’m a sucker.

But the amount of business I’ve been able to generate over the years from taking care of people has always outweighed those losses—by a ratio of 100000000 to 1.

I’m willing to take those odds 100% of the time. And I’m willing to take the beating now and again to continue that style of business. To me, the best defense is a good offense.

But not everyone is built for that style of service or that level of commitment. Most people I’ve met who work in retail just want to get through the day, cross their duties off the list, and go home so they can watch TV. To them, taking the time to answer 200 emails about why you cannot get a bottle of Pappy is a gigantic waste of time. They could be using that time to do any number of more profitable activities.

You can absolutely make the argument that personalized customer service doesn’t scale economically. There is plenty of evidence that shows retailers can be just as profitable by selling fewer bottles at higher margins, rather than more bottles at lower margins. At the same time, retailers who show little to no interest in their customers can counteract that lack of service with access to bulk pricing and special offers.

I have my way of doing things, and it’s worked for me my entire career, but I don’t have any metrics that can prove whether my time could have been better spent doing other things, or whether a shrewder sense of business would have benefited me in the long run. Maybe the guy who I sold the bottle of Blanton’s to didn’t really have a dying father whose final wish was to drink Blanton’s with his son. Maybe the guy who said his bottle of Lagavulin broke in the mail was lying and he suckered me out of a free bottle. Who knows.

The point is: I don’t really care.

I’m too busy thinking about all of the other people that I could be helping. I see retail as half full: there’s always something else I can be doing to make customers happy. Just like I don’t dwell on whether I could have saved 15% by switching to Geico, or whether I got the cheapest price on premium unleaded, I don’t think about how much money I could have made if I had done things differently.

But I have that luxury. I’m an optimist. I’m just lucky, I guess.

-David Driscoll

An Insider's Guide to Macallan

When I first started in retail there were two core Macallan single malts: the 12 year and the 18 year.

The 12 year came in a red box; the 18 in a purple one. We sold tons of both.

Every now and again we would bring in the Fine Oak Series: a 15 year old and a 17 year old edition that came in pastel colored boxes. We sold fewer of those.

It was a simple time. Everything had an age statement.

People used the number to designate their desire. “Mac 12, please,” they would say. I would grab the bottle. They would pay. There wasn’t much else to discuss.

In 2020, however; much has changed. Macallan has become a luxury juggernaut. It has supplanted Glenlivet and Glenfiddich as the most recognized single malt Scotch in the world, and rare editions can sell at auction for seven figures per bottle.

As a result, the brand has exploded into a multitude of new editions, expanding the reach and the profile of the whisky has a result.

There are three different Macallan 12 year olds labels now, in addition to three different 18 year old expressions. There’s also a number of NAS (no age statement) editions with names like: Gold, Estate, and Rare Cask.

Seeing that it’s been a few years since I’ve tasted the core portfolio, let alone all the new offerings, I thought I’d break down the bulk of Macallan’s 2020 selections and re-familiarize myself with the market’s most coveted brand, while creating a guide for Mission shoppers in the process.

It’s very easy to be overwhelmed simply by the sheer number of Macallan labels on the shelf at Mission, let alone the thousands of other whiskies. Let’s take a look at the core expressions:

THE 12 YEAR OLDS

Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak

• The Macallan 12 Year Old Sherry Oak is what we used to know simply as Macallan 12, albeit it now comes in a black box rather than a red one.

• Where as other Sherry-matured whiskies like Balvenie 12 and Aberlour 12 are generally finished for a couple years in Sherry barrels, the Macallan 12 Sherry Oak spends the entire 12 years in Sherry, giving it a denser, more supple texture.

• David’s Notes: This whisky starts out mildly sulfurous before moving into fudge and cocoa and finishing with coffee bean notes. I always remembered this being quite sweet, but this new Sherry Oak is more like dark chocolate than bittersweet. It’s surprisingly savory at times, and also quite thick.

Macallan 12 Year Old Double Cask

• With the Double Cask series, Macallan has pivoted over to the Balvenie/Aberlour model I mentioned above: the whiskies are aged in American oak ex-Bourbon barrels before being finished in Sherry.

• Rather than pick up those heavier, more brooding dark chocolate notes, the Sherry finish is more like sweet frosting on an American oak vanilla cake.

• David’s Notes: I like this whisky much more than the 12 year Sherry Oak. You still get the richness, but it’s far more balanced from front to back and the sweetness flows seamlessly across the palate from the beginning to the end. To me, this should be the new standard Mac 12. There are no rough edges, lots of Sherry and fudge notes, and it tastes expensive, which all luxury whiskies should.

Macallan 12 Year Old Triple Cask

• This is Macallan’s newest core label that adds a third type of cask to the maturation process: Sherry seasoned American oak, or basically ex-Bourbon barrels that are filled with Sherry, left to sit, then dumped and used for maturation.

• Both color-wise and flavor-wise, it’s lighter and maltier than the Sherry Oak and Double Cask editions. If you like Sherry, but you don’t want it to dominate the flavor profile, this is the Macallan expression for you.

• David’s Notes: Lighter and airier, more spice and malt flavors at play, nice creaminess in the middle, ginger and orange peel finish. Yum, I could drink this all day.

THE 18 YEAR OLDS

Macallan 18 Year Old Sherry Oak

• Now in a black box, rather than a purple one (like the Sherry Oak 12), this what used to be the only Macallan 18 on the market; full-term Sherry maturation.

• For many single malt drinkers, this is the standard for luxury single malt. It’s the Rolex Submariner of whiskies.

• David’s Notes: It’s everything you need it to be, but the competition for 18 year old single malts has become fierce and there are a number of options well under $300 that I think rival the Mac 18 for the money. That being said, I would never, ever turn down a glass.

Macallan 18 Year Double Oak

• Just like the 12 year Double Cask, the 18 year old sees time in both ex-Bourbon and Sherry oak.

• For my money, this is the new 18 year standard. I enjoyed this much more than the 18 year Sherry Oak. Expensive whisky should have layers. It should expand on your palate and you should uncover new flavors as it rolls over your tongue. The Double Oak 18 has those layers. That’s what you’re paying for.

• David’s Notes: Stewed fruits and raisins on the entry, thick and chewy on the way in, it mellows out into cocoa and dark chocolate on the finish. Very elegant. In my mind, this is what luxury should taste like.

Macallan 18 Year Old Triple Cask

• Just like with the 12 year, the 18 year old Triple cask spends time in ex-Bourbon, Sherry, and then American Oak barrels that have been seasoned with sherry.

• Whereas I very much enjoyed the 12 year old version of this, the Triple Cask is my third favorite of the three 18 year old expressions. It’s delicious, but if I’m choosing how to dedicate my $300 then I’m going with the Double Oak.

• David’s Notes: Lighter in color, more malty on the initial entry with hints of caramel and cakebread from the sherry. Fine and smooth on the finish, lots of ginger spices and vanilla, malty notes.

I’m going to leave out the 15 year olds right now as they’ve now been streamlined into the the same three labels and they’re pretty much what you expect: 3 years richer than the 12s, and 3 years less rich than the 18s. I will say that the 15 year old Triple Cask is divine. It’s absolutely gorgeous on the nose, with lots of vanilla and almond notes from the malt with sweet biscuits and oak spices on the finish. I loved it.

The NAS Editions

Macallan Double Cask Gold

• More expensive than the Double Cask 12 year despite the lack of an age statement, the Gold focuses more on the ex-Bourbon matured whiskies with its leaner and fruitier profile.

• While the whisky does carry some Sherry maturation, this is pretty much what un-sherried Macallan tastes like. Lots of stone fruit, toasted oak, and vanilla flavors.

• David’s Notes: If you’ve ever wanted to taste the actual Macallan whisky itself, rather than the Sherry residue it’s aged in, this is a great expression that showcases how beautiful the malt itself is. It’s very un-Macallan in terms of how it fits into the rest of the book, and that makes it a fun diversion.

Macallan Estate Reserve

• While not entirely distilled from Macallan’s own estate grown barley, the whisky does indeed have some grain-to-glass Macallan liquid in the marriage.

• Matured entirely in Sherry butts and seasoned Sherry hogsheads, this is the best new Macallan I’ve tasted in years. There’s no information about the ages used in the marriage, but it doesn’t matter when the whisky tastes this good.

• David’s Notes: Absolutely charming, impeccably balanced between sweet and spicy, decadent and fluid—this whisky has it all from front to back. It has loads of richness, but it never overpowers the malt and the inherent graininess of the barley. It’s fantastic.

Macallan Rare Cask

• I remember when this whisky first came out and I had to explain to customers why it didn’t have an age statement on it. The Rare Cask is basically Macallan’s version of Booker’s: a small batch marriage of hand-selected “cherry” barrels (cherry Sherry!) that represent the top casks in the warehouse.

• While you may think that extra Sherry means extra sweet, there’s a lot of savory and somewhat funky flavors that can appear as well. You can sense those elements in the Rare Cask. There’s a rancio note right at the front that isn’t in any of the Double or Triple Cask offerings.

• David’s Notes: Super dense Sherry, you can almost chew it. Little notes of sulfur and fudge, sweet cake bread in the middle, dark fudge on the finish. Opulent as all hell.

Macallan Edition No. 5

• The Macallan website will attempt to explain their numbered editions as tributes to the natural color of Macallan, but really they’re just nuanced blends of different barrel types, broken down on the front of the box by type. You’ve got seasoned American oak, various types of butts, etc.

• Again, there’s no age statement on the whisky or attached to the various barrels used, but like the Estate they’re making up for the lack of details with all the flavor. I LOVED this whisky.

• David’s Notes: Uber fruity on the entry, absolutely dripping with stone fruit and syrup. This is exquisite. It’s thick and textural all the way through, with waves of sweet Sherry on the finish. Absolutely mouth-pleasing in all the best ways possible.

Now we’re all caught up for the holiday shopping season! Thanks to Edrington for getting me back up to speed.

-David Driscoll

Catching Up With GlenAllachie: An Interview With Billy Walker

Back in 2012, while on the hunt for casks in Scotland, I spent a week driving through the Highlands, targeting the independent distilleries because of their willingness to work with us. Getting large multi-national corporations to break from company protocol in order to sell a California retailer one individual barrel isn’t the easiest thing to do; hence, why I had meetings with smaller producers like Edradour, Glenfarclas, and an obscure distillery way off the beaten path in the eastern part of the region: GlenDronach.

After getting lost several times, I finally made it to the appointment and proceeded to have my mind absolutely blown by what I tasted: rich, decadent malts absolutely saturated in Sherry, yet surprisingly fresh and exuberant, rather than cloying or overly sulfurous. Getting Sherry maturation just right isn’t easy, and I soon learned why GlenDronach seemed to have it down: a guy named Billy Walker.

Not only did Billy Walker completely revamp GlenDronach’s inventory and turn the brand into an industry darling, he did the same with Benriach’s wildly variant stocks from the old Seagram’s days. The guy knows what he’s doing (or should I say has a nose for what he’s doing?), and last year was named Master Blender of the Year by Whisky Magazine as part of their Icons of Scotland awards.

In fact, Billy did such a good job at Benriach and GlenDronach that Brown-Forman (aka Jack Daniels) came in and bought both distilleries in 2017, bringing in Rachel Barrie to take over the blending. Many people thought it to be Billy’s swan song, but the man wasn’t done yet.

I hadn’t been actively following the single malt world since leaving the industry in 2018, but last month my friends at Impex sent me a bottle of GlenAllachie 12 year to welcome me back. It completely rocked my world. It was so damn good I couldn’t believe it; rich and coated with fudge, but simultaneously sweet and balanced from front to back. I jumped on the internet to find out more, and—sure enough—the answer was clear: Billy Walker was back and up to his same old tricks, creating masterful single malt expressions at the newly revamped Highland distillery.

Needing to get myself up to speed, I reached out to Billy recently to get all the details about the project. I was going to be telling everyone and anyone to buy as much GlenAllachie as they can afford, so I wanted to make sure I knew my stuff. Finding time to talk in the midst of holiday madness with an eight hour time difference isn’t easy, but we found a window to catch up.

Our brief conversation is below:

David: What made you decide to restart all over again at GlenAllachie after your successes at Benriach and GlenDronach?

Billy: I’m too young to retire! The opportunity to be involved in the acquisition of GlenAllachie was simply too good to be turned down. Remember I’ve been a blender for almost fifty years so I knew GlenAllachie was simply an outstanding whisky. In addition there was a great portfolio of casks, we now have almost 50,000 dating back to the 1970’s. GlenAllachie had also never been released as a single malt so it was blank canvas to work on. We didn’t have to unpick the work of anyone else out in the market.

David: Getting the chance to start over with a blank canvas isn’t lost on me! I get it. What about the spirit itself? I don’t know much about how GlenAllachie is made.

Billy: That was other thing that was crucial to me: GlenAllachie is a robust spirit that stands up well to long maturation and doesn’t get overpowered by the wood. This fitted with my plans for the distillery. The style is full-bodied, but what has been particularly interesting is how this lends itself to maturation in different types of oak, which are rich in character and activity. We are continuing to explore this with different woods, different vintages, and we will see where the journey takes us in the years to come.

David: What’s something that most consumers don’t know about GlenAllachie that you think is interesting or cool?

Billy: Like many distilleries, GlenAllachie operated under the radar before being free to express its personality as a single malt; to think of this distillery right in the heart of Speyside, with such a substantial stock and to be unheard of is astonishing. The period from October 2017 has allowed GlenAllachie to drive its rich personality into the single malt world and rectify this.

David: You are clearly the king of Sherry, in my mind. No one blends Sherry butts together as well as you. What do you look for when locating Sherry barrels for maturation?

Billy: The quality of the wood is super important, we have been working with the same suppliers for decades and they know exactly what we’re looking for; casks which have nurtured sherry yet the characteristics of the oak wood are still vibrant.

David: When people ask me why the whiskies from GlenAllachie taste so good, I tell them the same guy who revamped Glendronach is behind the brand. But what’s the more detailed reason? Why are the whiskies so good?

Billy: That’s an easy one: when you start out with an outstanding spirit, then the battle is won already. All that’s required is to finesse the maturing spirit with the best wood, you know? Our 2020 cask budget was $1.2 million dollars, for a company our size just setting out that is a phenomenal amount of cash but we simply will not scrimp on quality.

David: I’m sure inventory management is a big part of the job.

Billy: We’re a very hands-on operation, the distillery team of Richard, Lindsey, and myself are always checking the casks and monitoring the progress. When it’s ready to bottle we’ll do so, or if it requires a change of direction then we’ll do so. It’s as simple as that. We’re also careful about bottling strengths, our core range is always a minimum 92 proof, but for certain expressions we’re not afraid to bottle higher to get a better balance and flavor. The GlenAllachie 25 Year Old, for example, sits at 96 proof. We’ll do the same when we bottle a special release which has undergone secondary maturation.

-David Driscoll

Hidden Treasure

I spent the last few days digging through some of our old inventory at Mission, while jumping in behind the register in Sherman Oaks to help with the holiday rush (hence, why I’ve been off the blog for a bit). This morning when I got back to the Pasadena office, I asked my boss Vic what the deal was with twelve specific cases of Kavalan that seem to have been taken out of inventory. 

“Not only are they not showing in stock,” I said, “they’re mislabeled. This is a private cask of Kavalan bottled exclusively for Mission, but they’re tagged as the standard Bourbon cask release.”

It turns out that Mission did indeed buy a single Bourbon cask of Kavalan a while back, sold through most of it, but forgot about the rest of it!

Let me tell you: there are few things more exciting than spelunking through a giant room full of booze and digging out lost treasures. I popped a bottle immediately. It was like dipping my nose into a huge vat of my mother-in-law’s flan—that’s Mexican custard, if you don’t know your flan. 

I first went to Kavalan Distillery in 2014 as part of an Asian whisky expedition to Taiwan and Japan. I’ve never forgotten the experience. It was a hazy, humid morning when I woke up and started taking photos, the palm trees in the foreground with the lush green hills in the distance. It was balmy as all hell, which only made me think: “I wonder what this heat is doing to the whisky.”

Turns out, it’s pretty clear what the heat is doing once you taste the Kavalan expressions. The Sherry-aged malts are black like coffee. The Bourbon-aged malts are look like maple syrup. The heat not only forces the whiskey into the wood, it causes evaporation, reducing the water levels and concentrating the flavors even further (sort of like simmering a soup).

You wanna talk about concentration? Mission’s exclusive barrel #B101124004A is one of the fattest Bourbon-aged malts I’ve ever tasted. This whisky is simply oozing with creme brûlée and toasted coconut notes. And there’s a reason: Kavalan re-chars these American oak vessels, fills them with single malt, and then leaves them in a hot and humid sub-tropical environment to soak up all that sweet oak. This baby is so fat with tropical notes that you’d have thought it was finished in a rum barrel.

Now on my 17th sip, I can’t stress enough what a sheer joy this whisky is to drink. At $159.99, we’ve decided to price the whisky where it was back when Mission originally sold the barrel, rather than $200+ where some other sites seem to be for their editions. Breaking the barrel down into my new formula (why you want it, how it’s made, what is is), here’s the rundown:

• WHY: Kavalan’s single barrel expressions, also known as the Solist series due to their virtuoso-like performances, have become the stuff of legend over the years and this single barrel exclusive for Mission is a future legend in the making. Absolutely brimming with toasted coconut, tropical fruit, honey, and creme brûlée, this whisky delivers all the concentrated flavor the Taiwanese distiller has become renowned for with dialed-up intensity at full proof. 

• HOW: Located in a sub-tropical climate with intense humidity, the conditions under which Kavalan ages its barrel are extremely warm, forcing the whisky into the wood with greater intensity and leading to higher evaporation. The whisky ages more rapidly as a result, leading to mouth-filled whiskies of extreme character. This particular whisky was aged in a single ex-Bourbon barrel, so the American oak flavor is jacked up to 11 in this one: vanilla, candy corn, coconut, and toasted oak. The nose is like dipping your face into a vat of Mexican flan custard. 

• WHAT: Founded in 2006, King Car Company’s Kavalan Distillery in Taiwan has been breaking the mold of single malt whisky expectations, crafting award-winning whiskies that mature faster and taste better than many of its counterparts, and are often bottled with a ferocity that exceeds the expectations of today’s modern whisky drinker. Exclusive single cask editions of Kavalan have become quite coveted, and often sell out in hours upon release. This whisky was bottled at 58.6% cask strength.

-David Driscoll

An Insider's Guide to Johnnie Walker

Here’s the thing about blended whisky that super whisky geeks generally don’t like: you don’t know what’s in it.

Sure it tastes good. It might even taste incredible. But when education is involved and the opportunity for added intellectual knowledge is blurred or removed, some people opt out.

These folks want percentages, distillery names, cask numbers, proofs, and specifics. Knowing is part of the fun. They want to know why something tastes the way it does. I get it. I’m often that way, too.

Today, I’m going to try and bridge the gap. I have friends at Diageo from my time in the business, so sometimes I get access to information that not everyone has. With that information, I’ve decided to go back, taste through the core of Diageo’s Johnnie Walker expressions, and offer single malt lovers an inside look at the components that make-up these renowned labels.

Because at the end of the day, Johnnie Walker makes some pretty damn good whisky. A little more information might be what’s needed to bring more finicky drinkers into the fold.

Ready to walk through these with me? (pun intended)

Johnnie Walker Red Label

• Core single malt whiskies: Teanninich, Cardhu, and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: Cameron Bridge

  • Teanninich is distillery in the Northern Highlands that dates back to 1817 and does a 75 hour ferment for an ultra-fruity style of malt.

  • Cardhu was built in 1824, is located in the Speyside region, and also does a 75 hour ferment.

  • Caol Ila is an Islay distillery founded in 1846 that makes a smoky, but creamy and oily malt with its huge pot stills.

  • Cameron Bridge is a grain distillery outside of Edinburgh dating back to 1824 that is said to be the oldest continually-operating distillery in the world. It makes grain whisky as well as the neutral grain spirits for Smirnoff and Tanqueray gin.

• Flavor Profile: Fruity, seductively sweet, and slightly smoky

• David’s Notes: Having not tasted the Red Label in years, I have to say that I’m completely smitten with this whisky because I understand the task that’s been accomplished here. The palate is ridiculously integrated and seamless for a blend of this size and scale, which is no small feat. Remember: blending old, expensive whiskies is easy because most of the time they already taste really good on their own! Blended young grains and less mature malts is much harder because the edges are rougher and more difficult to streamline. The fact that we sell 1.75 liters of this for $33 is insane.

Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old

• Core single malt whiskies: Blair Athol, Cardhu, Strathmill, and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: Cameron Bridge

  • Blair Athol is one of the most beautiful distilleries in Scotland, located in the quaint village of Pitlochry in the lower Highlands. Known mostly as the key malt in Bell’s Blended Whisky, it dates back to 1798 and makes a soft, fruity whisky.

  • Cardhu - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Strathmill was founded in 1891 and creates a light and fruity style of malt. Using a purifier at the top of its stills, the device forces the heavier alcohols back down, allowing only the lighter alcohols to move through to the condenser.

  • Caol Ila - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Cameron Bridge - See my notes from the Red Label

• Flavor Profile: More pronounced smoke, soft and ashy on the palate, rich and smooth through the finish.

• David’s Notes: The Black Label 12 year is perhaps the archetype for what Scotch is “supposed” to taste like. It runs the gamut of whisky flavor effortlessly from peaty to malty, and vanilla to Sherry, without any rough edges.

Johnnie Walker Double Black

• Core single malt whiskies: Cardhu and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: Cameron Bridge

  • Cardhu - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Caol Ila - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Cameron Bridge - See my notes from the Red Label

• Flavor Profile: Smoky and peaty on the nose, more of that on the palate, rich and luscious on the finish.

• David’s Notes: Basically take out two of the Highland single malts from the Walker Black, double up on the Caol Ila, and you’ve got the Double Black. If you like peaty whisky, this is the peatiest of the core JW range.

Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve

• Core single malt whiskies: Clynelish, Cardhu, Blair Athol and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: Cameron Bridge

  • Clynelish is one of the most distinctive single malts in all of Scotland, renowned by aficionados for its waxy, lemony flavor and delicate nature. Built in 1967 to replace the aging Brora distillery, it’s one of the furthest North in Scotland.

  • Blair Athol - See my notes from the Black Label

  • Cardhu - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Caol Ila - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Cameron Bridge - See my notes from the Red Label

• Flavor Profile: Waxy up front with honey and heather across the middle, stone fruit and vanilla on the finish.

• David’s Notes: I always tell people: if there’s one whisky you can always pick out of a blind tasting, it’s Clynelish because no other whisky tastes like this. The Gold Reserve, while not as mature as the now-defunct Gold 18 year, is a fantastic whisky from front to back and it’s incredibly complex. There are layers of flavor to unpack here, oily, chewy, round, and supple textures as well that pour over your tongue with every sip.

Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year Old Blended Malt

• Core single malt whiskies: Linkwood, Talisker, Cragganmore, and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: none

  • Linkwood dates back to 1821 and produces a floral and sometimes heathery whisky that is light and easy to drink.

  • Talisker was founded in 1830 and is located on the remote Isle of Skye. Its combination of peat and candied fruit flavors have made its single malt a fan favorite for decades.

  • Cragganmore was built in 1869 and distills a more robust style of malt due to the shape of its stills, making it the perfect foil for Sherry cask maturation.

  • Caol Ila - see my notes from the Red Label

• Flavor Profile: Creamy and slightly sweet with gentle smoke flavors and nutty Sherry notes on the finish.

• David’s Notes: Always the best of the bunch for me, you get the super creamy notes from the Cragganmore and the Linkwood, with the peaty, smoky notes from the Talisker and the Caol Ila. It’s fat and supple on the palate, and chewy on the backend, which I love. It’s also nice to see how well this whisky has kept its form since reverting back to the four malt formula. I plan on having a bottle of this in my home at all times moving forward.

Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old

• Core single malt whiskies: Cardhu, Glen Elgin, Auchroisk, Blair Athol, and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: Cameron Bridge

  • Cardhu - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Glen Elgin dates back to 1898 and is another of Diageo’s Highland distilleries known for a heavy and robust whisky, which is often matured in Sherry butts.

  • Auchroisk (often pronounced ah-thrusk) is a newer facility, founded in 1974, that is known for its grainy, malty, sometimes even nutty profile.

  • Blair Athol - See my notes from the Black Label

  • Caol Ila - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Cameron Bridge - See my notes from the Red Label

• Flavor Profile: Delicate and refined with soft fruit, layered Sherry notes, and just the softest touch of smoke.

• David’s Notes: This a haunting whisky, almost like drinking the soul of Scotch whisky. You wanna talk about seamless and smooth? There’s no whisky in the JW lineup as seamless and smooth as this. Every flavor builds into the next one, to the point that it’s hard to pick out any one thing. It’s a masterpiece of whisky architecture. The Sherry-matured additions of Glen Elgin and Auchroisk steal the show here.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label

• Core single malt whiskies: Benrinnes, Cardhu, Clynelish, and Caol Ila

• Core grain whiskies: Cameron Bridge and Port Dundas

  • Benrinnes was founded in 1826, but the distillery was rebuilt in the 1950s. The whisky undergoes a rapid distillation process which results in a heavier spirit, then is condensed in worm tubs for an even more robust character.

  • Cardhu - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Clynelish - See my notes from the Gold Label Reserve

  • Caol Ila - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Cameron Bridge - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Port Dundas - Operating from 1811 to roughly 2009, Port Dundas was the Glaswegian counterpart to Cameron Bridge, producing column still grain whiskies only. Now that it’s closed, every sip means there’s a little less Port Dundas whisky in the world.

• Flavor Profile: Incredibly soft and lithe with stewed fruits and an oily, softly sweet finish.

• David’s Notes: One of the most ethereal whiskies in the world, so dainty and reserved that it’s almost like listening to beautiful melody at a low volume. Most people have the instinct to turn things up and rock out when they love music, but the Blue Label doesn’t work that way. You have to tune out the world and focus in completely on its haunting beauty in order to fully appreciate it. Dialing it up only distorts its character. For those who taste carefully, you’ll be blown away by how many currents are running at an incredibly low frequency. Benrinnes is also one of my favorite Highland distilleries because the whisky has a thickness to it that you can almost sink your teeth into, which you can sense in the mid-palate. Combine that with the Clynelish, and you get something other-worldly.

Johnnie Walker 200th Anniversary Celebratory Blend

• Core single malt whiskies: Cardhu, and ?????

• Core grain whiskies: Port Dundas

  • Cardhu - See my notes from the Red Label

  • Port Dundas - See my notes from the Blue Label

• Flavor Profile: Rich and simultaneously powerful due to the higher proof, with candied fruit and peppery spice on the finish.

• David’s Notes: Thick with sweet malt flavors on the nose—honey, toffee, malted barley—with more heft in the mid-palate from the 51% ABV. The middle is all dried fruits and raisins, before bursting on the finish with creme brûlée notes. It’s sort of a one-trick pony from front to back, but it’s a really good one simply due to the oily texture which I absolutely adore in my whiskies.

-David Driscoll