Blended Archives - First Pour Cocktails

Johnnie Walker Black Label

Posted on September 9, 2022August 13, 2022 by Nick

Some liquors end up hanging around more out of nostalgia than actual enjoyment. Johnnie Walker Black Label fills that role in my life. In fact, it’s one of the first liquors I ever had, and one of the first bottles I ever owned. The reasons are more to do with the perception of scotch as a higher end offering, and the black label being a step over the Red. In reality, Black Label isn’t particularly fancy or high enough, but is it as good as my memory serves?

Johnnie Walker Black Label

Aged twelve year and matured in oak casks and is a blend of single malt and blended grain whiskies.

Sight: Burnished.

Smell: Green apples, chestnuts, and smoke float up. Sea spray and honey come together to give a salinity. There’s a slight breadiness as well. The apple note ranges as far from caramelized to fresh to slightly candy like.

Sip: The body is moderate, and touches off without a whole lot. It opens up gradually, pulling in plum, wet stone, smoke, sea spray, and a bitter honey element. There’s a slight oiliness here, and elements of green apple and hardwood or leather come to play. There’s a bit of heat.

Savor: The ending is more minerality and smoke. These two characteristics overwhelm most everything else, barely letting a hint of yeastiness though.

Johnnie Walker Black Label is an iron fist in a chainmail glove. There’s not a lot of subtleness here, and there’s not a lot of depth. While there are some fruit flavors, this is a bit of a bully. Drinking it neat could be fine, but it’s probably not the most engaging pour.

In Cocktails

In a Highball, Johnnie Walker Black Label opens up with red apple, fresh plums, hints of vanilla, subtle oak, and a hit of minerality. The palate eventually drags in the smoke, and leaves it lingering on the finish. The result is more refreshing, powerful, and open in it’s flavor spectrum, but it’s not particularly deep. In a Bobby Burns No.2, the smoke overwhelms some of the more delicate flavors, but works well with the sweetness and salinity (particularly the lemon garnish). Overall though, this is a bit more unbalanced. For a fun contrast, a rusty nail balances smoke and sweet.

In Review – Johnnie Walker Black Label

Johnnie Walker Black Label is a bit uncouth for most drinks. If you like smoke and would like it cheap, then Black Label is probably an entertaining choice. For those looking for more fruit forward flavors or more gentle floral flavors, this isn’t going to work well. Due to the sheer power, we don’t recommend this as a bottle to start your bar with.

Great King Street Artist’s Blend

Posted on February 11, 2022July 25, 2022 by Nick

Compass Box is well known for some of the more interesting blends in the past couple decades, including their Peat Monster and Hedonism. What some individuals don’t know is that Compass Box also offers a truly affordable daily drinking / cocktail scotch in their Great King Street Artist’s Blend.

Great King Street Artist’s Blend

Great King Street Artist’s Blend is a high malt (55%) blend that comes from a one-hundred year old recipe. It is non-chill filtered and has no added coloring. Like many scotches, over 70% of the blend is first fill bourbon barrels, but it also has influence from French oak and sherry barrels. A high amount of the blend is also single malts at 40% of the blend. All of this adds up to theoretical quality, but how does it taste?

Sight: A pale gold fringing into summer corn color.

Smell: The nose starts off with barrels of green apples and pears. Notes of caramel and sugar come through, giving a delightful candied note to the apples. There’s a bit of pie like cooked notes that come through, and are leaning into hints of baked oat crumble.

Sip: The start is smooth and rich as things start out. Warm notes of caramelized apples and baking spices come out off the bat. There’s a gradual lean into cereal notes and more green pears / apples. There’s a bit of nutty vinous note that comes in toward the start of the finish.

Savor: The finish is nutty and laden with apples and cereal grains. The finish coats the palate and continues on, giving a little spice as it goes.

Great King Street Artist’s Blend is a beautiful, yet simple scotch. The flavors of fresh apples and spice compliment richly against the cereal grain elements. Combined with the balanced and lingering finish, it ends up being easy to drink but in no way boring. The final result is inviting and smooth enough to drink on its own, but also stands up to water, ice, or other flavors.

In Cocktails

In a Highball the apples and cereal notes wake up and bring out slight touches of orange. The carbonation and minerals bring forward some of the earthier notes in blend – possibly emphasizing some of the oak influence with a touch of vanilla and spice. The result is super drinkable, and easy going. In a Rusty Nail it keeps the apple and pear flavors at the forefront, while the touches of spice balance well against the herbs and sweetness of the Drambuie. Overall, it works fantastically in both applications, standing up to the strong flavors of the Drambuie while also showing it’s ability to be subtle in the highball.

In Review – Great King Street Artist’s Blend

Great King Street Artist Blend is one our favorite choices for a home cocktail bar due to its ability to work both in cocktails and on its own. The flavors are quintessential scotch, but also refined and elegant. At a price point between $30 and $40, it’s absolutely worth keeping on your shelf. If you haven’t tried Artist’s Blend yet, you’re missing out on a great scotch that’s also a great value.

Chivas Regal 12

Posted on July 16, 2021July 25, 2022 by Nick

Chivas Regal has a long history, dating back to the 1800’s. Operating out of Strathisla in the Highlands (the oldest such in the Highlands), the brand produces a variety of whiskies ranging from the 12 year aged to 25 year and a No Age Statement (NAS) offering that produced of only the best of the best. While you can blend your own (seriously, they apparently offer that), you’re most likely to reach for a bottle of base offering. So how well does Chivas Regal 12 work for cocktails?

Chivas Regal 12

Sight: A deep golden hue with a tint of orange.

Smell: Honey, heather, and apples come to the forefront with touches of rain soaked rocks. The nose leans toward the perfumed side of the spectrum.

Sip: Mild notes of heather and honey lead off, but bring in a hint of salinity and orchard fruit. The flavors progress toward nuttier notes, before ultimately pull in a slight amount of charred wood. The mouthfeel is moderate to full, if a little rough.

Savor: The finish is laced woodsy notes, pome fruits, and floral characteristics with a lightly tannic nature.

Chivas Regal 12 is a light, easy going scotch with a primarily floral and fruit forward character that picks up some mild wood and smoke notes. It’s a perfectly fine dram on it’s own, although it doesn’t particularly stand out in anyway. It’s not overly smooth, but isn’t quite refined either. The characteristics make it a decent choice for mixing, but it could survive on the rocks.

In Cocktails

In a Bobby Burns No. 2, Chivas Regal 12 added a good amount of caramelized nut notes and a little smokiness. The richness of the mouthfeel carries forward and leaves a very full bodied drink experience. That said, the drink becomes a bit less delicate than with a lighter scotch, and feels more direct in it’s character. In a Highball, the woodsy notes and nuttiness dominate, but the honey and heather aren’t far from flitting it. The weight remains very much, firm and almost oily.

Chivas Regal 12 In Review

Chivas Regal 12 is fine, giving a nice robust touch of scotch flavor while not breaking the bank. At issue, is the price point. Marching toward $40, you’re fringing into Glenlivet 12 territory, which feels to give a little more of everything compared to Chivas. Down $10 are Dewar’s White Label and Johnnie Walker Red, which are arguably not quite as refined, but aren’t going for on the rocks / in a Glencairn glass presentation either. The net result is that Chivas works fine, but might not be the best option to add to yourself depending on the price of competition.