J&B Rare

A really nice, gentle, tasty blend. Nothing wrong with it all, but you can do better at the price point, e.g. Ballantine's.

17th October 2021

I am an avid Scotch and Single Malt drinker, and have a pretty rounded palate, but sometimes going bottom shelf can satisfy as any other, and J&B is the one I gravitate towards. It's not complex, but I love the creamy vanilla note just before the dirty smoke finishes it off. I usually drink it neat when I don't need a challenge, or on the rocks when I don't care how quick it goes down.

10th October 2021

It is a smooth and tasty unaged blend, you will hate it if you come with expectations like the complexity of a single malt. But it makes the perfect scotch and soda and a great whisky sour. It is perfect for parties or as a mixer, there are better whiskies for sure, but this is the cheapest whisky and also one of the best for cocktails due to its bland nature and it doesn't claim to be anything else.

14th September 2021

This one surprised me a bit. Not particularly fragrant and I found it rather fierce on first taste; perhaps because it wasn’t quite what I expected. However, perseverance pays off and I began to warm to it. It is actually rather subtle. I certainly agree with the taster’s remarks about apples, as there is a slight suggestion of Calvados about it. I didn’t get the malt, in fact I would say it wasn’t at all malty. Thankfully no peat or smoke. For such a long established brand I would say it tastes remarkably modern, like some of the new trendy whiskies being produced for younger drinkers.
I probably shan’t buy it again unless it is on special offer, but my thanks to J&B for the experience.

11th August 2021

Nutty but bland. It's one of those scotches that doesn't have a lot to offer on the palette. It's very smooth with very subliminal notes. Probably a better blend for mixed drinks, bit It's not bad on the rocks. I happen to like Teacher's scotch more than this brand, but for the price, it'll do the job.

27th July 2021

Smooth, delicious and easy going down, either neat or with a few cubes. Better than Johnny Red, Cutty, Dewar’s and the Grouse, which are the competition.

31st May 2021

Smooth light finish, light Smokey taste. A little toffee. For the price, it ain't too bad. Believe it or not it's pretty good with a cube or two of ice...

29th May 2021

All the snobs looking down their noses at J&B should stay quiet. I am convinced there are people in this world who will insist everthing that isn't expensive is bad. They seem to be convinced that cheap always equals gross. Ironically, these are the same people that encourage unscrupulous price-gouging from all sorts of industries.

Anyway, that minor rant aside, J&B is an excellent whisky. Smooth and very palatable. I admit I first got introduced to this label after watching John Carpenter's The Thing (which, for those who don't know, is technically a remake of a 1951 Howard Hawks film!), and out of pure curiosity through possibly unintentional product placement, I found I actually quite liked it! I expected such a low-budget whisky to be quite harsh, which was not much of a concern to me. Still, I was pleasantly surprised to find out just how wrong I was.

J&B is exceptionally smooth. Some might say it's watered down or weak, but I find that rather unfair to claim. It doesn't taste weak, per se, just soft, if that makes any sense. Compared to some other average and common whiskies, which are all decent in their own right, I find J&B unusually... Pleasant.

For the first few sips I had of the first bottle I bought, my opinion was different. More of a "meh" than a recommendation. But, even without getting drunk, something changed. Soon I grew to love J&B, and now it is arguably my favorite.

Yes, that's right, this cheap-o whisky has beaten out all sorts of other high-quality expensive whiskies and become one of my go-tos. It's cheap, smooth, tasty, and 80 proof. What more can you ask for?

Plus, when there's snow on the ground, I can play chess on the computer and feel like Kurt Russel. And you can't put a price on that.

Seriously though, for whatever my amatuer non-snob opinion is worth, I highly recommend it.

29th December 2020

simply honest clean spirit with no e150 seems like vanilla creamy apple toffee some citrus and oak better than cragganmore imho

23rd October 2020

I tried famous grouse and Dewars White Label this year, all available on sale frequently. All of them ended being withing about 4$ here in Canada, can be found 6-8$ off when on sale. I got me a 40 here for 40$cad after tax which is usually 48 here. All i can do is compare the three described. Growse and Dewars were more smokey, J&B was simply easier to drink drunk.

J&B smells more like tequila, but mixes lighter and with less smoke. I can see why people say J&B has a more vanilla note than the other two, it drinks more like a corn whiskey than the other two and mixes better with coke than them also. Growse & Dewars White both always mixed with a white viscous film on top of the Coca-Cola that you can swirl and see suspended in the glass, from the added smokiness i assume. J&B is quite thin, and more corn/grain colored & golden.

All three are cheap scotch blends, J&B is better as a mixer for the casual whiskey drinker, wheras Grouse & Dewars is better neat if you care to drink cheap whiskey neat i guess. Ive tried 12 year scotch and still i prefer it with cola, the smokiness and spice is usually less offensive. I dont see the value as a young cheap drunk, I think i like the smokiness of the others as much as i like the drinkability of something lighter in a mix. i think all three score about a 7/10, no scotch has WOWed me yet, but Dewars is nostalgic cus i think my old uncle drank it, because smells seem to have a strong tie to memories.

All of them score about a 3/5 and i find it hard to rate cheap scotch higher, even though i drink it all the same. Drink the good stuff first, then drink something cheap when your drunk in the face, i always say. If you drink neat, i cant get past the tequila taste, but im told anise is roasted similarly and thats why, and theres no anise ofc.

cheers.

cheers,
NYD.

29th September 2020