Today’s dram: Johnnie Walker Black
Today’s tasting notes: This whisky wasn’t in my draft plans for Whisky Wind-down, but it turns out I had a travel size bottle in my collection.
I acquire these, sometimes as gifts, other times picked up at distilleries, and they accumulate. I have a drawer for them now.
Not to digress too much, but is travel size the right term? Feels a little silly. Sample size? Airplane bottle? The only size allowed in Utah up until the state board changed its mind and now you can’t buy them there at all? Fun size?
I’ve had Johnnie Walker Black before, though I’ve never owned a full-size bottle. It’s been a couple of years, but I recall this being a decent enough whisky, just not remarkable.
I went looking for the description online — since the tiny bottle isn’t helpful here — and supposedly it is smoky. Huh. I do not remember that. Then again, maybe it’s only smoky if you’re used to easy-going Scotch whisky. I have what you might call an affinity for smokiness.
Anyway, let’s see how memory matches reality …
Huh. There is smoke there. Not faint, either. Distinct. Not Laphroaig, mind, but then what is? Otherwise, smooth. Very. Not much peat to speak of, but there. It’s Scotch whisky, for sure, and if you’re not a Scotch whisky drinker this might well bowl you over.
Today’s thoughts: So, here’s where I tell you this was meant to be an entirely different entry of Whisky Wind-down.
I will probably get back to that one, which, not to spoil the surprise, covers a different color of Johnnie Walker.
I have a lot more to tell you about my feelings on blended whisky. Those feelings, however, are tied to something else I really want to talk about.
My writing on that topic wasn’t working today. And I want to be happy with the results. This is a fun series for me, but getting it right matters, too, especially with certain topics. Later, I hope.
Today’s lesson: Admit when it’s not working and find something that does.
Today’s toast: To self-awareness: Wait, who am I?
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