Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight 200th Anniversary (John Walker & Sons)

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight 200th Anniversary (John Walker & Sons) is a blended Scotch from John Walker & Sons. It marries malt and grain whiskies, with grain from lost distilleries such as Cambus. Cambus grain, from a distillery closed in 1993, lends a sweet, oily depth to such whiskies.

Grain lends a light, sweet frame while the malts bring depth. It was matured in refill ex-Bourbon oak, lending coconut and vanilla. The whiskies are married and rested before bottling. The maker selects casks for the sweetness and depth each lends. Grain from lost distilleries gives such whiskies a rare, old character. A period of marrying lets the whiskies settle together. The result is a soft, sweet, oily Scotch with a creamy oak depth. Closed grain distilleries like Cambus give these whiskies their backbone. The grain lends a light, sweet frame to the whole.

At 43.8% it is smooth and sweet. Coconut, vanilla, toffee and a soft oil run through it, with a creamy oak depth. The mouthfeel is oily, the coconut carried on a sweet body. A long, oily finish carries a coconut lift. A characterful blended Scotch drawing on grain from a vanished distillery.