Johnnie Walker Red Label 1980s

Review is of a 50ml sample kindly provided by @RianC from a bottle he secured at auction.

I had a strange mixed anticipation when I poured this whisky and let it sit for 20 minutes.

Firstly, I was keen to try it after the bottles owner waxed lyrical about how good it was.

It's always nice about trying something from a bygone era. Literally decades earlier. Spirits is one of the few hobbies that lets you consume things from the past free of the risk of botulism.

But counterbalancing that I couldn't help remembering I'd had a glass from the father-in-law's bottle of Johnnie Walker Red last Christmas. And it was bloody awful.

Anyway

Nose

The nose on this jumps out at you. Easily as good as many respectable modern single malts. It's kind of fruity with barley citrus and a straw note. Makes you think of meadows. The nose changes over time too. 10 minutes into the glass I start getting digestive biscuits. Another 5 minutes and I'm getting black pepper.

Palate

Some peat on the palate. That is there immediately on the arrival. I didn't pick it up on the nose at all. But it is there and it lingers through the development into the finish. Dry, ashy peat. More peated than a modern JW Black I'd say. I really wasn't expecting that. There's more barley, a little bitter oak. It's less fruity on the palate than on the nose. In fact it's much more savoury. The only fruit present is a slight bitter apple note.

Finish is relatively short.

Mouthfeel is quite thin and the only thing that spoils the party is some slightly over bitter tanins on the finish.

Overall

Really enjoyable whisky this. In a blind tasting you'd easily assume this was a 12 year old single malt.

Incredible to think you'd pick this up in any supermarket at the time for say £15.

As they keep telling us it seems whisky WAS better back then!

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