Johnnie Walker High Rye Blended Scotch Whisky, produced in Scotland by Johnnie Walker and owned by Diageo, carries no age statement and is bottled at 45% ABV in a 750 ml format. The blend combines 60% rye aged in American oak barrels with single malts from distilleries such as Cardhu. Its suggested retail price is $39.99.
The spices get pretty feisty, so water or ice helps. With 60% rye in the blend, this has the potential to stand up with standard straight rye whiskeys.
The blend is creative and the bottle is relatively inexpensive, so I see this as a fun whisky for the amateur mixologist to experiment with. The mix of Scotch and rye flavors gives this bottle a potentially broad vocabulary and I could see it adding a cool twist to an old fashioned, a Manhattan, a toddy, or a blood and sand.
There is some rye spiciness to be found, but it's not a main player. Fans of Johnnie Black will miss the peaty punch, but it's a decent everyday dram (especially for its price point) and a mixable whisky for all sorts of cocktails. Try a Whiskey Sour.
