Whisky : Johnnie Walker Platinum 18 Year

Country/Region : Scotland/Blend

ABV : 40%

Tasting : Neat in a Glencairn @ Home

Nose : Sweet florals with a bit of mustiness: it’s the smell of wet garden soil and flowers after a spring shower.  Faint saltine crackers, dried cherries, cherry cola, and Mountain Dew Code Red give this dram a fruity and sweet aroma.

Palate : Light and delicate body (or thin and watery as the wife put it) there are musty floral and vanilla notes.  Faint citrus notes of tangerine and orange give the dram an almost sherbet-like quality.  In fact it almost feels so light and easy to drink that it could be a refreshing palate cleanser.

Finish : Falls off in intensity quickly, but nice woody oak spices linger quietly.

Score : 3

Mental Imagine : Watching the rain fall on a Spring morning, the scent of wet earth and blooming flowers fills the air.

Something Better : Arran Bothy Quarter Cask (more intense, similar fruit/floral, more pastry notes)

Something Similar : Craigellachie 13 Year (less smooth, similar floral/fruit notes and delicate body)

Something Worse : Johnnie Walker Green Label (quicker finish, less sweet, less intensity)

Notes :  This little bottle of Platinum 18 Year came in a sample pack I got for Christmas along with the Johnnie Walker Black, Gold, and Blue.  Black is an old standard—a palatable smokey dram that is nearly always available.  I had never tried any of the others, though I have often been curious.  Knowing that the Johnnie Walker colors represented some kind of ranking was about all the knowledge I had of scotch when I first thought to myself, ‘hey, you should buy some scotch.’  I grabbed a bottle of Red Label assuming Red probably fell somewhere in the middle of the Johnnie Walker color spectrum….

The Platinum 18 Year is smooth sailing compared to the unrefined and rough nature of the Red or even the Black.  By comparison the 18 Year is balanced and elegant.  My wife described it as ‘easy to drink,’ maybe a little too easy.  She reckoned that if she wanted something this smooth, she was more likely to rustle up a mixed drink with a bit of Vodka.  The connection with a relatively flavorless spirit is no mistake, the Platinum does feel a bit like a palate cleanser.  Though it has some interesting citrus notes, the overall dram is very restrained.  The Platinum 18 compares to say the Rock Oyster 18 as flavored sparkling water might compare to a Cola.  Yes, there are some similarities, but the different levels of intensity are hard to miss.

This would be a great bottle to pull out with friends or family that do not drink a whole lot of scotch.  It has pleasing flavor notes, it is smooth, it comes well packaged, and it is not exceptionally expensive.  I personally think the Chivas 18 Year has more going on.  However, I think I would be more likely to grab a single malt with a solid profile, the Craigellachie 13 year for instance, if I thought I was going to be left with the bottle to finish afterwards.  The Platinum 18 Year has a place and it is a fine scotch, I would happily drink it if offered, but I will not be racing out to grab a bottle for my cabinet.