Johnnie Walker Green Label 15 Year Old

@Nozinan, thanks for a very nice review.

My experience with Johnnie Walker Green Label has been that it is a whisky which is much better with a freshly opened bottle than a long opened one. After my bottle was open about 18 months the flavours drifted a direction I didn't like so much. Some of the better flavours were lost, and some tart edges developed in other places.

I tried this, and as a blend, I really liked it. However maybe my experience was different because I was not expecting the same quality as a single malt un-dilution and non-chill filtrated 'before bottling'. Just wondering is this more of a malt mark or a blend mark? Do reviews on this website generally make a distinction based on each type of whisky…I find the relative ratings by the beloved and respected Rafly to be quite helpful in this manner. Thanks, Wood

Good question. I think, as we've recently seen to much of in the discussion of another review, that there is no standardization in how reviews are scored here in Connosr.

But I would argue that it's tough to standardize whisky reviews. Palate development over time, whisky changes after opening, inter-observer variation, batch variation, diet...glass used, these all play a role...and more.

I would respectfully suggest that although Ralfy ho,dos up the word Malt or Blend or both doesn't mean he categorizes the marks he gives. There appears in fact to be no rhyme or reason.

There is a wine columnist in the Globe and Mail, who doesn't necessarily like the same things I do but he is consistent in his writing so I can predict what I will like (sadly he's not that way with spirits). I am not sure I can say that for Ralfy. A man who gives the same mark to lagavulin 16 ang Glen Breton 10.... Oy!

Wood, if you're open to suggestions for your own reviews, I'd say to ignore the distinction between whisky types when you give a score. That is to say, don't "grade on the curve."

The alternative, I think, would be to say "well, this blend is crappy, but I expect a blend to be crappy, so it's pretty decent as far as blends go. 85!"

It's much more meaningful to say "This is a really good whisky. 85. Oh, and it's a blend!"

Off-subject parallel: I don't think price should figure into scores either.

@OlJas

Well put. I agree that price should not be a factor. But It's ok to say this is an 85 whisky and "Hey! it only cost $30".

You both have good points. And I appreciate your pursuit of some degree of objectivity (which some à la Foucault, will of course think is hopeless). Once too many subjective circumstantial factors are taken into consideration when giving marks grading becomes too personalized, and ultimately, completely useless for others. I don’t think I will be making any reviews anytime soon however, I have difficulty getting more than 4 descriptive proprieties when tasting and nosing, even after about 3 years of practice. I do enjoy the labour done by the veterans of this cite however, and am an active reader of your work.

@Wood

There is a time and a place to pick apart whiskies for a review.

There is also a time and a place to sit back and enjoy the dram in its wholeness, to enjoy the moment without analysing it.

Some people do all of one, some do all of the other, and many do something in between. None of them are wrong and all of them are right.

But tangential to this, if you can find 4 descriptors in tasting or nosing (or sometimes both) you're doing well. I often can't get more than that. And it's ok to review from a holistic viewpoint as well.

Feel free to participate in whatever way you like, but please participate. It's good to have you joining us. Nova Scotia is where I found a legendary bottle of A'Bunadh batch 28 when I wasn't even looking for it.

And for what it's worth, I as a reader much prefer what Nozinan calls the "holistic" style review.

I don't get too excited about that "almost hint of lemongrass" or whatever the reviewer found deep in the nose after 45 minutes. But, tell me how Laphroaig blew smoke out of your ears and repelled your wife for the next five days, and I'm there.