dangolf18 Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 So I heard that JW Green has been discontinued since 2012. However, I stumbled across a few bottles at a local liquor store. It has the age statement (15 years). Is this a re-bottling?
ChanceSchmerr Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 It was discontinued, yes - but the reason you're finding it is the reason they cut it - poor sales. As a result, it can still be found somewhat easily. I like it better than most of the JW Blends, to be honest, and it JW Green was the only non-blend in the lineup, it was what they used to call Vatted Malt - all Single Malts, no Grain whisky in the blend. Hope you picked it up! 3
dangolf18 Posted March 6, 2015 Author Posted March 6, 2015 It's a small shop so they aren't going anywhere. Going to go back this weekend and pick up 2-3 bottles. They also had the Platinum...was strangely only $10 more ($59 vs $69).
ChanceSchmerr Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 Good man! That's a good price for the Platinum. I havn't tried that one yet. I liked the 18yr Gold - not the new 15 year Gold. Platinum replaced the 18yr Gold..... 1
free85 Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 The Platinum comes in one of my favorite bottles. I want to have a crystal stopper made for it so I can turn it into a decanter. Just a beautiful bottle. 1
JohnS Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 Poor sales led to its discontinuation but the fact it stood out as a vatted malt most certainly helped. In comparison to the other Johnnie Walker blends, it was distinctive for having four 15 Year Old Single Malts; Cragganmore, Talisker, Caol Ila and Linkwood. Personally, I enjoyed it, but it is not your typical Johnnie Walker offering. Your typical Johnnie Walker fan would not likely want this blend. If you can find a bottle, I would suggest to pick it up. On Amazon UK it is going for $USD130, on Ebay.com.au (in Australia) these go for around $USD310. I think there is a high demand for this product in Australia as Johnnie Walker is a high-profile Scotch here, more than in other parts of the world. Jim Murray gave it a 95 in his 2010 Whisky Bible, which I guess contributed to the interest in it.
fookite Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 From what I heard, it's not just old stock. New bottles are showing up in places with different caps.
sengjc Posted March 6, 2015 Posted March 6, 2015 There was a re-release recently - have a check of the bottle codes (they normally contain an indication as to what year it was bottled in) and you might be able to ascertain if it is from the previous batch or the new re-release. Another indication is the closure type. If it has a screwcap it will be from the recent batch. The older batches have cork closures. These are highly collectible as @JohnS indicated. Even the limited re-release batch run is already scarce or sold out in some parts of the world. Another one to look out for will be the Johnnie Walker Gold Label 18 Year Old the Centenary Blend (not the current Gold Label Reserve).
JohnS Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 That's great to know sengjc. I wasn't sure of the re-release of Johnnie Walker Green Label, screwcaps make it easier to judge. I had read that it was re-released for the North American market, other sources I read denied this, but judging by the amount of American sources who have bought this Scotch whisky, I would say that confirms a re-release.
srbbones Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 Senjic is correct I just bought some of the new batch, and they have the screw cap
dangolf18 Posted March 7, 2015 Author Posted March 7, 2015 Went back today....unfortunately they had screwcaps. I asked the guy why Green is back on the market and apparently Green didn't sell well in Asian market so they re-allocated a lot to the U.S. market. I ended up picking up a few bottles of Stranahan and Noah's Mill Bourbon. 1
srbbones Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 Went back today....unfortunately they had screwcaps. I asked the guy why Green is back on the market and apparently Green didn't sell well in Asian market so they re-allocated a lot to the U.S. market. I ended up picking up a few bottles of Stranahan and Noah's Mill Bourbon. I am not sure you have to assume this batch is "unfortunate". (Unless you are only buying as investment). Tastes great, like older version of green, to me.
sengjc Posted March 7, 2015 Posted March 7, 2015 ...apparently Green didn't sell well in Asian market so they re-allocated a lot to the U.S. market... Yes, it is a strange thing why the green label is not more popular in Asia - I personally like the Green Label back in the day when they were still labelled as "Green Label Pure Malt". Went through quite a few bottles of them and also the 180 Cask edition that came in litre bottles at the duty free. Maybe the price point was too close to the Gold Label 18 Year Old Centenary blend...
TM-US Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 The reason I was told why there is Green Label in NJ and NY is that the distributor bought a bunch out of California that was sitting unsold. I just tried JW Green, and I understand why it didn't sell- I thought it was mediocre at best. JW Black is smoother and Gold or Platinum is much better.
Lotusguy Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 The reason I was told why there is Green Label in NJ and NY is that the distributor bought a bunch out of California that was sitting unsold. I just tried JW Green, and I understand why it didn't sell- I thought it was mediocre at best. JW Black is smoother and Gold or Platinum is much better. It's also available again in Cali in the new version with screw cap so what you were told is incorrect.
dangolf18 Posted March 10, 2015 Author Posted March 10, 2015 Just saw it in stock at K&L. I guess if it's too good to be true, it usually is.
srbbones Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 Just saw it in stock at K&L. I guess if it's too good to be true, it usually is. Your comments perplex me. Do you have any information that the present stock that is available is in any way different then the older stock (other than the cap)? Many expensive Japanese Malts have screw tops, so that doesn't mean much. I think the speculation that this is Asian overstock makes sense. Still, the blend/length of aging should be the same. Do you have any specific knowledge to back up your comments?
dangolf18 Posted March 10, 2015 Author Posted March 10, 2015 Your comments perplex me. Do you have any information that the present stock that is available is in any way different then the older stock (other than the cap)? Many expensive Japanese Malts have screw tops, so that doesn't mean much. I think the speculation that this is Asian overstock makes sense. Still, the blend/length of aging should be the same. Do you have any specific knowledge to back up your comments? I'm not commenting on quality. My "it's too good to be true" quip was referring to the fact that I had originally thought I was lucky by finding the discontinued stock. I didn't know they continued production for the Asian market and re-allocated stock to the US. I thought I hit the jackpot on something that I thought was really scarce. I'll never know if the re-released version is better/worse than the discontinued one since I never tried the original.
srbbones Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 http://www.clubwhisky.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99172#post128051 This is some info I found from another site. I think it tastes the same as the corked version, BTW.
Lotusguy Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 You can also check the KL Wines spirits blog for more background.
TM-US Posted March 10, 2015 Posted March 10, 2015 Thanks for the info- I didn't know that they re-released it. I was going by what several liquor stores told me. The stuff I drank had a screw top and a built-in pourer, if that helps date the bottle.
ChanceSchmerr Posted March 12, 2015 Posted March 12, 2015 Latest on this, according to the Diageo/Johnny Walker Twitter account (so i'm told, I don't use Twitter), is that they re-released the JW Green in the US to celebrate the 10th anniversary of it (it was released originally in 2005). These are NOT re-releases of Asia Pacific bottles, as those would be 70 cl/700ml, and the US bottles are clearly 750ml, as required by US regulations. No word yet from Diageo if it will resume it's place in the JW line or if this is a one-off. Either way, enjoy 'em boys. Now, back to my infinitely better Springbank
cris77 Posted April 7, 2015 Posted April 7, 2015 JW Green was the only JW i would drink...very hard to find now in OZ..
JohnS Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 JW Green was the only JW i would drink...very hard to find now in OZ..I periodically notice Johnnie Walker Green on ebay.com.au getting...1) multiple bids and 2) still going for big prices!
Lotusguy Posted April 9, 2015 Posted April 9, 2015 I periodically notice Johnnie Walker Green on ebay.com.au getting... 1) multiple bids and 2) still going for big prices! Fools+Money = Parted It's readily available all over the place again.
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