Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve

The Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve was first introduced in 2013, and was released in replacement of the discontinued Johnnie Walker Gold Label. The Gold Label Reserve, like most Johnnie Walker expressions, is a blended Scotch whisky, meaning it’s a blend of single malt and grain whiskies from Scotland.

It is a no-age-statement blend, as opposed to the Gold Label which carried an age statement of 18 years, and is priced below the Johnnie Walker 18-Year-Old (formerly known as the Platinum Label) and the Johnnie Walker Blue Label.

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History

The Johnnie Walker brand was established in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland by John Walker in 1820 as a small grocery store, and by the time he passed away in 1857, he had realized the possibility of creating a smoother blend of whiskies by mixing them.

After the passing of the Spirits Act of 1860, John Walker’s son, Alexander ‘Alec’ Walker, and grandson, Alexander Walker II, took the company to new heights as the new Act lifted prohibitions on the blending of malt and grain whiskies with each other.

Thus, the three oldest core expressions from the house of Johnnie Walker were born, namely the Old Highland, Special Old Highland and the Extra Special Old Highland. These whiskies were rebranded in 1909, and then came to be known by the color of their labels, White Label, Red Label and Black Label.

Johnnie Walker Gold Label, the 18-year-old blend was first introduced to commemorate the centenary year of Johnnie Walker, and was named the Centenary Blend. The Gold Label Reserve on the other hand, was introduced as a replacement blend, and was named the Celebration Blend.

Making Process

The Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve blend contains source whiskies from the Speyside and the Highlands region of Scotland with some proportion of West Coast whiskies too.

The blend was created by Master Blender Jim Beveridge, and the blueprints of the Gold Label Reserve are built around the Clynelish single malt from the Highlands, a well-known provider of single malts to the house of Johnnie Walker.

Alcohol Percentage

Like all standard Scotch whiskies, the Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve carries an alcohol strength of 40% ABV (80 US Proof).

Awards

Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve has won a number of awards over the years since it was introduced in 2013 including;

Gold at The Scotch Whisky Masters in the Blended: Super Premium category in 2015.

Gold at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in the Scotch Whisky: Deluxe Blend category in 2014.

Silver at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in the Scotch Whisky: Blended category in 2017.