Johnnie Walker Blue Ghost & Rare Brora

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This is a limited edition blend bottled at 46% built around malt whisky from the closed Brora distillery? Is Johnnie Walker trying to be cool again? We hope so!

We don’t normally get excited about Johnny Walker releases, but the Blue Label Ghost & Rare has us intrigued. For starters, the firm is unusually transparent about the components, and we are thrilled to see it bottled at 46%. The heart of this limited edition release is whisky from the closed (though soon to be reopened) Highland Distillery Brora. Brora has become a cult whisky over the last decade, its whiskies becoming increasingly older and rare with every passing year. The whiskies from two other closed distilleries have been incorporated into the blend, Pittyvaich and Cambus (grain). These Ghost distillery whiskies have been complimented with single malts from Clynelish, Royal Lochnagar, Glenkinchie and Glenlossie as well as grain whisky from Cameronbridge.

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: silky, creamy and tropical on the nose; buttercream icing, cinnamon butter, Manuka honey and tendrils of soft grains; melon, oranges plucked from the vine and mango salsa; leave it in the glass a while and bright berry fruits emerge.

Palate: still silky, almost ethereal, a deft marriage of malt and grain; layer upon layer of delicate flavours, silky honey, subtle floral notes and waves of fruit: melon, kiwi, mango, papaya, berry fruits and citrus; still buttery and waxy (the Brora and Clynelish showing through); the grains feel like an accent rather than the base; some subtle savoury salty tones late on the palate.

Finish: delicate but long and layered; creamy, more subtle salt and honeyed with the waves of fruit slowly fading out.

Comment: this is not Brora... but it is a beautiful blend in the vein of something we are more accustomed to seeing from Compass Box. Is Johnnie Walker cool again? this is a step in the right direction! 

Producer’s Tasting Note

Nose: On the initial nose, you get a sweet vanilla aroma with hints of demerara sugar and salted caramel but this soon fades into delicate fresh fruit citrus notes with just a trace of hazelnuts and spice. Finally, the richness of berry fruits comes to the fore with a touch of oak and toffee.

Palate: From the beginning the flavor gives you the impression of richness and elegance –smooth and creamy. On the palate like the aroma the brown sugar sweetness slowly dissipates revealing dried apricots, woody spice and fragrant smoke. The finish is lingering and warming with a sweet chocolate orange aftertaste with a subtle hint of waxy apples.

Producer Description: “Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare is a rich, velvety smooth blend of eight treasured Scotch Whiskies including three "ghost" whiskies from the silent distilleries of Cambus, Pittyvaich and the Highland Single Malt, Brora, which lies at the heart of this special release bringing a deliciously light peatiness and sophisticated subtle sweetness. Johnnie Walker Master Blender, Dr. Jim Beveridge, has long been fascinated by how whiskies from a small number of iconic distilleries that closed many years ago can bring the extraordinary richness for which Johnnie Walker Blue Label luxury Scotch is known. In crafting Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare, Jim blended the three ghost whiskies with five rare expressions of malt and grains from the existing distilleries of Royal Lochnagar, Clynelish, Glenkinchie, Glenlossie and Cameronbridge. The result is a wonderfully smooth Scotch, with the fruity sweetness of pineapple, rich notes of hazelnut and dark chocolate and a subtle smoky finish.”

750 ml