Is Johnnie Walker 18 a critics' whisky or a drinkers' whisky?
Here is the odd thing about Johnnie Walker 18. The critics and the drinkers see it differently. On how the critics rate it, it sits in the top 21% of the whiskies at Dan Murphy's. On how broadly everyday drinkers like it, it lands in the bottom 7%. Same bottle, two verdicts. So which one is yours?
Start with what is in the glass. Complex and elegant from the first sip, with a woodsmoke note like a bonfire of green twigs, ashy peat embers and the smell of grain stores. Underneath runs vanilla cream and honey over baked apples, then golden syrup flapjacks, vanilla fudge, candied apricot and orange peel, a little gingerbread and pepper, and a catch of smoke that carries into the finish, where citrus and honeyed grains show up. Classical in style, but easy to get on with.
What to pay. Johnnie Walker 18 is $131 at Dan Murphy's this week. Work it out as a pour at home and it comes to about $5.93 a standard drink, with roughly 22 standard drinks in the bottle. A pint at the pub, about $13 for its two standard drinks, runs about $6.28 a standard drink. So a measure of this on your own bench sits just under a pint out.
1/Two Scotches at their own floor this week, and the shelf's oddest near-miss. Johnnie Walker Black is $53, Lagavulin 16 is $145 — both plain shelf tickets, neither a members-only deal. Put them together and the pair is the cheapest it has been in the six weeks I have tracked it.
2/Why they sit side by side: the profile model rates them close. On make-up, Lagavulin 16 is the second-closest bottle to JW Black — the smoke in the blend reading across to the Islay malt. Two very different tags, one broadly shared character.
3/The value model doesn't buy it. On worth-for-money it puts fifteen places between them: a $53 everyday blend and a $145 benchmark Islay are not the same call, whatever their profiles share. Take them as a cheap smoky mixer and a keenly-priced icon, not one standing in for the other.
4/So which floor do you take? The Black at $53 for the smoky everyday pour, or the Lagavulin 16 at $145 while it sits at the low end of its range? Both Dan Murphy's. If your local ticket reads differently, tell me the number.
The bottlesThe Johnnie Walker guy
Also from the Johnnie Walker guy
Johnnie Walker 18: stand-in 1
Fancy a Johnnie Walker 18 but eyeing the price? Chivas Regal 18 gives you about 97% of what you love about it, for 95% of the price, at $125 this week. Nose of vanilla and toffee, soft oak and spice on the finish. More on Johnnie Walker 18 in this week's piece.
Johnnie Walker 18: neighbours' price
Who's it for? Anyone chasing woodsmoke and honeyed oats; I'd pour it gladly. Its neighbours' drinkers would pay $120 to $231 for Johnnie Walker 18, each from their own bottle. This week it's $131, inside that range. More in this week's piece.
Johnnie Walker 18: per drink
Pour one after dinner, lamps low. Johnnie Walker 18 works out at $5.93 a standard drink, just under a pub pint's $6.28 a standard drink. Woodsmoke off green twigs, honey over baked apples, a catch of smoke into the finish. More in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21: tasting
I kept coming back to the orchard fruit on Royal Salute 21. Masses of it, a hint of passion fruit, then a drop of water lets a banana note up. Thick and chewy, a little nut on the finish. $210 at Dan's. More on it in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21: stand-in 1
Like Royal Salute 21? Johnnie Walker 18 gives you about 91% of what it does, for 85% of the price. That's $179. Woodsmoke, honey, baked apples. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21: neighbours' price
Hand Royal Salute 21 to a Chivas Regal 18 drinker and they'd pay about $99 for it, close to 79% of what their own bottle costs, marking it down mostly for the name on the label. More on where Royal Salute 21 sits with its neighbours in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21: per drink
Royal Salute 21 runs about 22 standard drinks a bottle, so a pour at home is $9.51. A pint at the pub sits near $6.28 a standard drink. The 21 lands above that; Chivas 18 slips under at $5.66. What's a fair price for a pour in your own glass? More in this week's piece.
Royal Salute 21: stand-in 2
Like Royal Salute 21? Chivas Regal 18 gives a Royal Salute 21 drinker about 85% of it, for 60% of the price, at $125. Vanilla, almond slice and toffee on the nose. Malt, dark fudge and raisin, then a warm, long finish. More on Royal Salute 21 in this week's piece.
Johnnie Walker's oldest core age, on a member ticket
The oldest age statement in the core Johnnie Walker range is on a members' ticket this week. Johnnie Walker 18 is $133 for My Dan Murphy's members; non-members see $177 on the shelf.
Keep It in the Family
Royal Salute 21 is $210 at Dan Murphy's this week. A pour works out at about $9.51 a standard drink, and there are about 22 standard drinks in the bottle; a pint at the pub runs about $6.28 for the same measure, so this one sits a touch above the pub pour per glass.
Johnnie Walker's value sits at the bottom of the range
Red Label is the cheapest Johnnie Walker on the shelf, and the one priced closest to its flavour-peers. The grand old labels up top are the ones paying the real premium.
Black Ruby is the one Johnnie Walker under its neighbours
For once the best value in the Johnnie Walker range is not one of the famous labels. It is the newest and least known bottle on the shelf, the Black Ruby, and it is the only Johnnie Walker this week tagged under the whiskies around it.
Every famous Johnnie Walker asks over its neighbours
No blended Scotch is poured in more countries than Johnnie Walker. This week, not one of its best-known bottles is a bargain.
The Johnnie Walker ladder: cheap end honest, top end proud
Johnnie Walker sells itself as a ladder of colours, and most drinkers climb it assuming each rung is worth the step up. This week the model tells a blunter story. The bottom of the ladder is priced fairly. The middle asks you to pay handsomely for the colour on the label.
The numbers behind these bottles
| bottle | region | latest ticket | read | window price | CE 360° mean | premium | shelf rank | per std drink | drink rank | content |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnnie Walker 18 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky | Islands | $130.99 | observed | $178.99 | $131.20 | 26.7% | #8 of 9 | $5.93 | #9 of 9 | 12 |
| Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky | Multi-Regional Blend | $77.99 | observed | $55.97 | $51.56 | 7.9% | #21 of 27 | $2.47 | #11 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 | Multi-Regional Blend | $54.99 | observed | $55.90 | $51.51 | 7.8% | #20 of 27 | $2.44 | #9 of 26 | 1 |
| Johnnie Walker Black Ruby Blended Scotch Whisky | Multi-Regional Blend | $52.50 | observed | $67.99 | $65.51 | 3.6% | #15 of 27 | $2.38 | #6 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Blue Indian Festive Blended Scotch Whisky | Multi-Regional Blend | $286.00 | observed | $286.00 | $267.99 | 6.3% | #19 of 27 | $12.69 | #26 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky 1L | Multi-Regional Blend | $365.99 | observed | $256.19 | $234.85 | 8.3% | #24 of 27 | $10.30 | #24 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Blue Label Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | Multi-Regional Blend | $229.90 | observed | $239.95 | $220.63 | 8.1% | #22 of 27 | $10.41 | #25 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky 1L | Multi-Regional Blend | $116.99 | observed | $65.80 | $64.63 | 1.8% | #8 of 27 | $2.98 | #16 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Double Black Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | Islands | $75.99 | observed | $75.99 | $57.18 | 24.8% | #6 of 9 | $3.44 | #2 of 9 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve Blended Scotch Whisky 1L | Multi-Regional Blend | $149.99 | observed | $104.99 | $101.28 | 3.5% | #14 of 27 | $4.75 | #23 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve Blended Scotch Whisky 700mL | Multi-Regional Blend | $88.80 | observed | $88.75 | $86.16 | 2.9% | #13 of 27 | $4.02 | #21 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Green Label Blended Scotch Whisky | Multi-Regional Blend | $103.99 | observed | $103.00 | $98.92 | 4.0% | #16 of 27 | $4.34 | #22 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Red Label Blended Scotch Whisky 1.125L | Multi-Regional Blend | $78.99 | observed | $49.15 | $48.64 | 1.0% | #4 of 27 | $2.22 | #5 of 26 | 0 |
| Johnnie Walker Red Label Blended Scotch Whisky 1L | Multi-Regional Blend | $64.90 | observed | $46.13 | $45.82 | 0.7% | #3 of 27 | $2.06 | #2 of 26 | 0 |