The Directors Blend. This email arrived on our desk …
“Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky Outreach, has asked me to check informally whether you would be free to attend a small private event in Edinburgh in March”.
and of course, we sent a reply “would love to!” Thanks very much, it was an excellent day and we felt privileged to be invited, many thanks Diageo team.
This is the story/report on the day by Paul, his personal observations; Created to celebrate the skills and traditions of the Johnnie Walker blenders over the generations, The Directors Blend is an annual bottling, in very limited quantities (around 500), presented in individually numbered bottles and on a personal basis to the Directors of John Walker & Sons, to others working closely with Johnnie Walker, and to a very few external partners.
It is not commercially available, and few people outside the company have ever tasted it. Like an artist’s study of this Blended Scotch Whisky’s different characteristics and origins
and its vibrant component flavours, it is conceived as a deliberate reminder, for everyone involved with this blend, of what makes Johnnie Walker Blended Scotch Whisky so unique and intriguing. The first edition of The Directors Blend was created in 2008.
So the latest, 2012, Directors Blend is the fifth in the series. It was bottled just before Christmas. The tasting of all five was led by Caroline Martin (Master blender) of the Johnnie Walker blending team, and the session began with an interesting discussion on the origins of blending from Nick Morgan. Lunch followed. The day was a complete success for Liz and Paul and once again, the Whisky Experience was the venue. Here are Paul’s notes on the whisky (personal thoughts mind!).
2008; Grain whisky. (American oak cask). powerful niff, good legs, sweet and creamy, grain is very important to a blend, for me, this lingered long on the front of the tongue, wee taste of a ginger biscuit, a drop of water made it easier for me, am not a huge fan of grain whiskey to be honest. 43%
2009; a peaty/smokey bottling, robust whilst no overpowering, reminded me of a coal fire dying, really nice actually. Tried it with water, rather have it without. If you had to describe it, something like the JW Double Black. 46%
2010; more subtle this one, woody, Speyside flavours, European oak, sherry, leather like an old belt or saddle, stayed nicely at the back of my gob. A lot in here; sweetness, fruity, nutty, Christmas cake (cliche sorry), reminded me of a Black Bush. 46%
Here’s a tip; dinnae use fizzy water with whisky, made this mistake once!
2011; USA/Euro cask, woody again, wee bit o smoke here, could drink this all night, easy and pleasant. Fruity, agreed with Liz, peardrop sweeties. 46%
2012; final dram of the session. very fresh, for me, least acceptable of the five. Smells nicer than the taste, Liz agreed. I would even say a wee bit boring, but then I do like TASTE! 43%
My favourite of the day; number two, the 2009, Liz said she liked number three, the 2010. Caroline was really good taking us through these, very honest and easy to listen to, she knows her job! Mind, at 27 years in it, I reckon she knows just a tad more than me (he laughs!). I did ask her about glass shape and how this affects nose – if at all. She came back with an interesting answer, she sometimes does blind tasting and other times in a blue glass so she cannee see colour etc. Liz and myself came away very happy, a wee Blue Label bottle each. We were two of ten invitees, plus Diageo staff. Lunch followed with wine, which obviously – would have been rude to refuse!
The idea for this series came from Director David Gates, to try and provoke conversation within the company of blends – still over 90% of all whisky on the market. The “growing markets” for whisky is led by blends, no blend, no single malts! simples. And – this was new to me, the very first whisky blender at Johnny walker, was a tea blender! More snippets; sales of whisky owes a great deal to the excellent marketing of it over the last century. Diageo has 28 single malt distilleries, all unique in flavour, all happily taken for blends. For instance, Black Label has 40 whiskies in there.
Paul and Liz are owners of
WWW.MCLEANSCOTLAND.COM
AND
WWW.ANGELSWHISKYCLUB.COM
