Blended
Scotland
Originally released to the travel retail market, Double Black combines the rich, malty flavour of Black Label with slightly peatier whisky and casks that were more heavily charred. The result is a toasty, smoky whisky with Johnnie Walker's usual rich, malty core.
Slightly smoky and almost medicinal on the nose, it offers up hints of vanilla, a little tar, a touch of barbecue sauce, citrus and malt.
Good body and very creamy with a sublimely malty core. It offers up a surprising level of peat smoke which works really well. Creamy sweetness, hints of soft wood smoke, salty butter, custard and cereal grains.
Good length with notes of malt, boiled sweets, black pepper and cool smoke.
Firstly this is like a magnified (double?) version of JW Black in the sense of being thicker, slightly more viscous and smokier. But it also has a few different markers than 12 YO JWB which is more maltier. If you've tasted Talisker then I'd bet this contains a fair bit of smoky peat from that malt and for the price, this as a poor person's Talisker is great value. It does have some cheaper grain notes on the nose but it is 2/3 the price of Talisker. Although the bottle states heavily charred casks are used, the smoke flavour is not off-putting. The rich sweet entry is pleasant and brown sugar carry through with a touch of vanilla and raisin fruit cake intensity filling out the picture as the smoke billows out and gently fades. 94/100 = very good value
First of all, I'd say this is not a 12yr old whiskey...every 12yr old I've ever seen says so on the bottle, even regular Black Label. Secondly, the flavor is thin, it lacks a balanced smoke and it's way overpriced. I'd sooner buy regular Black Label, or better yet, Pinch.
This does not have the subtle skilled blending of JWB nor the 12 year ageing that ensures such a smooth and satisfying dram. I agree it is astringent as the smoke is mainly derived from charring the casks and not from additional peaty Islay whisky. Diageo should not be charging more than the standard Black for this over-hyped and inferior product.
It's a nice compliment to the standard black label.
I have no idea why so many people have said that this isn't much different from standard black label - it's VASTLY different. It is much peatier and less of a smooth sip. I'll be completely honest, neither the standard black label, not this are my favourite JWs but, if I had to choose, I would say that the standard black label. I think it's a more well-rounded drink in general and the double black has a slightly astringent, unpleasant note to it (in my opinion). I prefer the gold label to both, which I am surprised about because, in general, I'm a big fan of smoky whiskies
