ralfy review 1117 – Isle Of Arran 10yo @50%vol: (Optic Local Barley)
Johnnie Walker Red Label 1985 vs 2025
Johnnie Walker Red Label, a bottle that has crossed all of our eye lines at some point.
Today we’ll be comparing a 1985 bottling versus a modern day bottling of the blend. What could the differences be? Are older whiskies actually better? Time to find out.
The expression was first released in 1906 under the name ‘Walker’s Special Old Highland’. The expression ran alongside a whisky with a white label and one with a black label. As the whiskies were commonly referred to by the colour of their labels, Johnnie Walker decided to implement a rebrand. As such, in 1909, ‘Walker’s Special Old Highland’ was renamed ‘Red Label’. The iconic Striding Man logo was introduced in the same year.
Johnnie Walker Red Label has been the top-selling blended scotch whisky in the world since 1945, even during the period between 1977 and 1983 when the expression was absent from the UK domestic market.
This whisky can contain up to 35 separate whiskies from both malt and grain distilleries, as well as the 1985 bottling no doubt containing some Paxarette, while the modern bottling definitely has E150A caramel colouring. Comparing them both side by side is quite interesting purely based on colour. The ’85 is a little lighter, but the closeness in colour is still quite a marvel.
Ardbeg 10 Cask Strength, 61.7%.
It is finally here! The bottle we’ve all been waiting for, Ardbeg 10 Year Old Cask Strength!
A combination of refill ex-bourbon casks with some experimental casks filled with an unusually high strength spirit, this Islay colossal is finally starting to fix what has been wring with Ardbeg in the past few years for me. A tonic of sorts.
For too long, the labels were a little gimmick drive, the releases were undesirable (personally) and the prices were a little outrageous. Luckily, this bottle is a limited release, but has a price tag that is not unreasonable in the grand scheme of modern cask strength whisky releases.
A powerhouse of smoky, savoury and sweet, this is a bottle that does not disappoint in anyway, and with some of the big competition that has been creeping up in the last few years, this bottle does go to show that when they want to, Ardbeg can always hit it out of the park.
Adam and Andrew discuss the trilogy of smoky single casks that debuted at the 20th Victoria Whisky Festival here in Victoria BC Canada. Discover an Islay infused 100% rye whisky crafted right here on Vancouver Island by Stillhead. Canada’s first ever single cask Meikle Toir from Billy Walker’s GlenAllachie distillery in Speyside. And our first ever exclusive cask from Islay, a 12 year heavily peated Bunnahabhain from our friends at Signatory Vintage!
Mark’s Whisky Ramblings 594: Ben Nevis 26 Year Old 1998 Liquid Art
Mark Dermul, Belgian whisky blogger, has a headache… not really. Headache is the name of the beautiful artwork by none other than Fred Bervoets, which Liquid Art, in collaboration with Galerie De Zwarte Panter from Antwerp, used as a label. And we all know that 1995 to 1999 are very fine vintages for Ben Nevis, so this will undoubtedly be a treat.
Chivas Regal Crystal Gold, 40%
What do you do when you come across a product that just fills you full of hatred and contempt for an entire company? Well, you make a video about it. I doubt there was a clever thougth in the room when this idea was greenlit by however many people who were struggling to be creative. You can really tell that nobody who loves whisky works in large whisky companies anymore – it’s just bodies who nod. The second largest drinks company in the world who own however many brands and add colour to a majority of them all though, ‘Yes, lets strip the colour from an aged spirit and sell it to a market where we already have a strong sales presence.’ This product is a showcase of how inept, poorly thought out, poorly marketed, and rich these companies are. Go and check out the PR video for this as it’s one of the worst adverts for a spirit I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It gives Trump and his new ballroom project in such a big way.
A hateful, silly, patronising product that doesn’t deserve shelf space anywhere and shouldn’t have gone further than a scribbled out idea on a company branded notepad. Phil’s SUBSTACK
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