Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Pittyvaich
Whisky: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Pittyvaich
Country/Region: Scotland/Blend
ABV: 43.8%
Cask: Oak
Age: N/A (Bottled 2021)
Nose: Fruity, grassy, grainy, bruised fruits, hay, hints of salinity and coconut, lacquered wood.
Palate: Light-bodied, woody, subtle brine, dried grass, sweet grain, more subtle fruits, ginger and citrus near the end.
Finish: Medium-length, mellow, and slightly drying with nondescript fruits, finished wood, and dry palm fronds.
Score: 6 (78)
Mental Image: Smell-o-Vision Anime about a Fruit Vendor
Narrative & Notes: Fleshy fruits roiled in the aroma with bruised mangos and nectarines among dried grass stalks and hay. A turn toward limes and papayas with a touch of salinity and coconut brought to mind fruit stalls in the shade of a beach park— an ice chest full of fruits to slice, dice, and bag. More lacquered wood and stone fruit pits sat further in with sweet sikhye. Light-bodied with vibrant tropical fruits, loads of lacquered wood, and bundles of dry grass. It was fruit stalls in the tropical market with tables of papaya, dragon fruit, coconut, and sugar cane laid out— though not chopped, as this was less juicy and more subtle than the aroma. More wood crept in with sikhye— a sweetened rice drink that expressed some of the sweet grainy quality of the flavors. A kiss of ginger and citrus appeared at the end with a touch of peppery spirit. The finish was medium-length, mellow, and slightly drying with nondescript fruits, finished wood, and dry palm fronds.
Pleasant and well-balanced, though with an odd bit of peppery spirit lurking at the end, this special release of Johnnie Walker Blue Label put the spotlight on Pittyvaich, a distillery shuttered in 1993 as one of the final casualties of the whisky loch that began nearly a decade earlier. The aroma was incredibly inviting and tropical with a juiciness to the fruits that did not carry on to the palate— though on some revisits the aroma turned more toward grass and grain chaff. The grain whisky elements of the blend, two of which were ghost distilleries themselves (Port Dundas closed in 2011, while Carsebirdge ceased operations in 1983), stood out with the slightly creamy-sweet elements that reminded me of sikhye, a sweetened rice drink that my wife loves for more than I (apologies to those who love it, I find it a bit cloying).
Overall, this was a lovely blend, though it lacked the distinctiveness I thought the Port Ellen edition of the Ghost and Rare line brought to the table. While that blend embodied some of my favorite aspects of Port Ellen, I have not had enough Pittyvaich to really pick it out in this blend, though those grain chaff and dried stalk notes were familiar.
