Tasted #26: Johnnie Walker "The Gold Route" (#101drams)

I added this to the #101drams in the hope that I'd be able to try it at a Duty Free shop on my next trip overseas. Sure enough on a recent long weekend trip to Singapore (during which I sampled many excellent whiskies and visited two fantastic whisky bars - posts to follow!) I spotted it for sampling at SYD Duty Free.

(So what if it was 8am? I was on holidays and there were #101drams to tick off the list...)

Johnnie Walker Explorer's Club Collection - "The Gold Route" (40%, Blend, NAS, Scotland)

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Nose: No peat that I could discern (so I doubt there's a lot of Islay whiskies in here as with some JWs). Rich and sweet, with a hint of caramel.

Palate: Rich and oily. A sweet, almost ice-cream like creaminess follows.

Finish: Smooth, very smooth. I was expecting a harsh finish but wasn't disappointed. I'd say there are some well-aged whiskies in here (I'd love to know the composition). Some sweetness and a whole lot of mouth-puckering dryness.

Rating (on my very non-scientific scale): 88/100. A decent blend.

Cheers,
 - Martin.