Diageo 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.

Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Posted on November 19, 2021November 11, 2021 by Nick

Owned by Diageo, Tanqueray is a brand positioned as premium but that isn’t the highest in the Tanqueray portfolio. Tanqueray London Dry Gin is positioned as their entry level brand, while they market Tanqueray No 10 Gin as their premium offering. Most people won’t ever get to realizing this though, as Tanqueray frequently is seen as a premium brand in bars and restaurants. Distilled for nearly 200 years, it’s one of the most recognizable gin brands in the world. Despite this, it’s affordable. So should it have a home in your home bar?

Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Sight: Clear

Smell: Soft to start with touches of vanilla. Juniper leads off heavily, pulls in touches of cinnamon and spicing. Touches of lemon and other citrus comes in, and hints of exotic spicing joins in. There’s a hint of heat.

Sip: The start is similarly soft and smooth, but the heat turns up relatively quickly. A bit of sweetness is responsible for this start, which lasts throughout. Juniper is the dominate note, but it’s complimented by a spicy character. There’s notes of angelica and cinnamon that are prevalent. Other sorts of herbal notes are really not as obvious at the spice touches.

Savor: On the ending, the finish has a kick up of heat and more of a powdered cinnamon and touch of red hot style spice. Juniper eventually overwhelms the other notes.

Tanqueray London Dry Gin is a little hot, slightly sweet, and more spicy than a typical London dry gin. That’s not to say it’s a bad thing, it has the underlying Juniper flavor that you’d expect from gin. The spice is also not nearly as pronounced as a contemporary style of gin. Overall, it creates a very good opportunity layering flavors on top.

In Cocktails

In a Martini the underlying spice plays a strong foil to the herbal notes in the vermouth. The brightness compliments the sweetness well, and it lends a clean, refreshing character to the drink. The ending lingers with more spice and subtle. The juniper is there, but due to the spice, it holds itself in check. Tanqueray may be a little wild on it’s own, but it also plays well with others.

In Review – Tanqueray London Dry Gin

Tanqueray London Dry Gin works well in cocktails, even if it doesn’t necessarily break new ground. Individuals that aren’t a big fan of juniper might struggle with Tanqueray and look toward Beefeater or Bombay Sapphire. That said, if you like juniper and spice, then Tanqueray plays well with others. The price being close to equal with Beefeater and Bombay puts Tanqueray into the recommended bottles for a home bar.

Bulleit Bourbon

Posted on July 30, 2021July 19, 2021 by Nick

One of the most eye opening cocktails I had in my youth was the Clara Bow at Rye in New York City. Made with Bulleit Bourbon, grenadine, lemon, St. Germain, and mint, the cocktail was shaken and served in a coupe. The result was a bright, balanced, and complexly flavored cocktail that toed the line between dark spicy bourbon notes and bright fruity, floral ones. While Rye restaurant has since closed and Serious Eats removed the recipe for the cocktail from their site, Bulleit Bourbon still holds a special place in my heart, and I still believe it’s a good bourbon to add to your bar.

Bulleit Bourbon

Sight: Between burnished and sherry in color with a hint of muscat.

Smell: The nose starts with a candied cherry and berry sweetness before picking up elements of black pepper, vanilla, and candied apricot. Spices pick up as it opens and builds with touches of oak and chocolate.

Sip: The body is on the thinner side, and the start is packed with spices, clove, almond, and touches of preserved cherries. Notes of chocolate and black pepper mingle with a light berry like note, and a hint of charred oak. There’s a hint of heat present.

Savor: The ending continues with a 100% dark chocolate, spice, and a touch of cherry and charred oak.

Bulleit Bourbon is spicy, slightly fruity, and very earthy. While not the smoothest bourbon to sip on, it does provide some nice nutty and woodsy notes. The fruity flavors give it a little extra personality, although nothing that’s overly standout. There are better whiskeys to sip on, and Bulleit has better applications in drinks.

In Cocktails

In a Manhattan, the chocolate and spice notes shine and allow the fruity flavors of the vermouth to come forward. The result is a well balanced Manhattan that flows smoothly between the various aspects of bourbon and fruit. This same pattern continues in a Clara Bow, where the acidity of lemon accentuates the spice and woodsy elements while giving the grenadine space to flex. In a simpler preparation like an Old Fashioned, the spice is amplified and some of the caramel notes are free to join in with more clove notes.

In Review – Bulleit Bourbon

Bulleit Bourbon is marketed as a mixing whiskey, and it’s a wonderful whiskey for that application. Even though it’s designed for mixing, it’s not a bad sipper either. The result is a whiskey that’s priced toward the middle of the pack, and is a reasonable stand in for a bourbon to choose when starting your home bar.