Johnnie Walker Blue serial number...

[The Henchman]

I received a bottle of this for Xmas. I received a collector's set with
one each of Red, Black, Gold, and Blue.

I have never tasted Blue and will probably not open this bottle unless it's
a true special occasion as it's the best blend I have ever received in my
young life.

Can somebody tell me the meaning of the Serial number on the label, and if I
can glean any information about the blend or the aging from this number?
Can the serial number provide any background as the bottle's contents?

Happy New Years!!!

[Michael Barrett]

Happy New Year Henchman.

If you have never tasted the Blue Label, how do you know that "it's the best
blend I have ever received"? Best in what way?
If you simply mean highest priced, that's one thing but you'll never know
how good it is unless you taste some. You might find that you like Black
Label better.
:>)
--
Commander Bob

Post by The Henchman
I received a bottle of this for Xmas. I received a collector's set with
one each of Red, Black, Gold, and Blue.
I have never tasted Blue and will probably not open this bottle unless
it's a true special occasion as it's the best blend I have ever received
in my young life.
Can somebody tell me the meaning of the Serial number on the label, and if
I can glean any information about the blend or the aging from this number?
Can the serial number provide any background as the bottle's contents?
Happy New Years!!!

[pltrgyst]

Post by Michael Barrett
If you have never tasted the Blue Label, how do you know that "it's the best
blend I have ever received"? Best in what way?
If you simply mean highest priced, that's one thing but you'll never know
how good it is unless you taste some. You might find that you like Black
Label better.

Exactly. Like any other blend, from wine to whisky, JWB is mixed to match the
taste profile remembered by some master taster. It's consistent, but not unique
in any physically associable way with a particular location, water, malt, etc.

When I started drinking Scotch without mixers or ice in the mid-1960s, my whisky
was Chivas Royal Salute, which at the time cost something like $25 per bottle.
It's still a fine blend, which I consider every bit the equal of JWB -- just a
different taste profile.

My own suspicion is that the "serial" number on JWB bottles is an encoded
statement of the ridiculous profit they make on a bottle created specifically to
fleece Japanese business travelers on the pan-Pacific routes.

Drink it and see how much you enjoy it. It's decent, but really nothing special.

OTOH, blindly assuming that JWB is your ultimate may indeed prevent you from
accumulating a large number of expensive single malts, an affliction from which
some of us unfortunately suffer. 8;)

-- Larry