Not to rain on your parade, although the other blends of JW (Johnnie Walker) are priced fairly, except arguably for Gold,
The BLUE is marketed simply for those that want a pricey 'display' boxed bottle to show off their 'good taste'
and has little to do with what is INSIDE the bottle. No experienced taster of import views Blue as anything
other than a great marketing campaign.
There are five steps in the evolution of a scotch drinker (according to no one but me))) - most only take step one or two.
1) Drink from a plethora of mass market or bar scotches like Grants, Scorsby, Passport, J&B, Cutty Sark (ick) etc that you can get at any drugstore/liquor store.
2) Graduate to the higher quality or sometimes just higher priced mass market blends - Dewers, Chevas, Johnnie Walker etc
3) Reach stardom and fame by displaying their collection of 'premium' blends - JW Blue, Gold or Green and displaying it proudly like a badge (while still getting a much better bottle)
4) Buy into the 'single malt experience by buying a mass market bottle of Glenlivet and thinking that is what it is all about
5) Starting the never ending journey of wonder by researching and actually buying several bottles of REALLY nice Single Malt and maybe blending your own as well ? You will probably end up with some for daily sipping in the <$50 bottle category and some for special occassions or moods that cost upwards from that.
Anyone with any siginificant scotch whisky tasting experience knows that Blue, although a
'nice' blend with almost no harshness is mundane and hardly noteworthy for its flavor characteristics.
There are dozens of others choices for less than $50 a bottle that would run rings around it to most tasters.
Although I favor single malts, there are many good blends (which is combined malt AND lesser grain alcohols) and I blend and vat some of my own from single malts or singles and blends.
(a 'vatted' or 'pure' malt is a combination of just single malts and not to be confused with a 'blend' which is a malt or malts combined with lesser grain alcohols - JW Gold and Green are vatted and who knows what Blue is)
Just google up Scotch Whisky and let the learning begin.
Also note that there is a LOT of variance in the bottle to bottle taste of Walker blends.
At the price point of Blue, you could be buying 2 or three bottles of some REALLY nice tasting whisky
Then you won't need to 'show off' your newfound good taste.
Oh, and btw, a 10yo old bottle of most single malts is NOTHING like the 12 or older bottles of the same brand and is most often a less than than great experience, though not always,
so start with 12yo+ tasting and up to 15-16yo for the sweet spot in the value category. Leave the 18+ for when you are tasting someone ELSE's bottle - unless of course, you have already hit the lottery
or just can't help yourself )))
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If you think of 'blending' NOT as a way for a distiller to use different single malts to mix up the 'blend' of perfection in an attempt to make an absolutely great tasting bottle,
but rather, a way to use a little of some great single malts to enhance their low end, really cheap, awful tasting, but highly profitable spirit inventory
to become somewhat more palatable and marketable, you are well on your way to understanding the diffference.
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Look up Talisker, Highland Park or Lagavulin - another Diageo brand (the parent of Johnnie Walker and a dozen or so other common liquors like Captain Morgan)
as well as lots and lots of others, before long you will find you are an expert on the GEOGRAPHY of Scotland as well. Then you are doomed. There is NO going back.
FWIW & IMHO