Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish

[William]

Diageo has unveiled a limited edition Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish expression although this is not the first time we have seen a sherry finished expression of their iconic Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old they did release a Johnnie Walker Black Label 12 Year Old Sherry Finish under their experimental Blenders’ Batch range which was exclusive to travel retail back in 2018.




More here:

https://www.scotchmaltwhisky.co.uk/johnniewalkerblacklabelsherryfinish.htm
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There's no bad whisky. Just good whisky and better whisky.

[Ian Shay]

As this is my first post on this forum, forgive me if I am out of order!
Has anyone enjoyed a bottle of JW Premier? I purchased a bottle at auction about 3 years ago, sealed in a lovely silk lined presentation box. This was for a special occasion which, like so many, was delayed a couple of years by covid.
When I came to the grand opening, I was devastated when the top of the cork broke of leaving the remained in the neck of the bottle. I attempted to remove this using a cork screw, but the remaining cork crumbled into the bottle. The whisk had a decidedly musky smell and taste, as clearly the bottle had not remained airtight.
Has anyone had this experience before?
The bottle included a small numbered certificate which was a guarantee of quality. I therefore decided to contact JW to enquire whether they would replace the bottle with an equivalent. After several weeks unsuccessfully waiting for a reply to my Diagio website enquiry, I found an email address for The Johnnie Walker Experience. The manager there responded immediately, and gave me a JW customer services email address to contact.
Three weeks later I have finally had a response. This was a polite email listing the various reasons why this could happen, but that was it! No apology, no offer to replace. What is the value of a guarantee of quality? It seems it’s worthless.
Has anyone had a similar experience? Can anyone offer any advice? Am I being unreasonable to expect JW to honour their guarantee?
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Kava]

If any bottle of whisky is stored on its side for a prolonged period the strength of the alcohol can break down the cork and affect the whisky. This can be part of the risk when buying from auction; you have no guarantee that the whisky has been stored correctly. Having said that it is a poor response from Diageo, I assume you sent them pictures of the failed bottle/cork.

[Ian Shay]

Many thanks for your advice here. Yes I've sent them several pictures and indeed retained all of the packaging, bottle, cork etc which I have said I am happy to send them to examine if they wish.

As wine should be stored laid down to ensure the cork is kept moist, I'm interested to hear whisky should not be stored that way. Is it the higher alcohol content which is the difference here?

[Kava]

Yes it is the strength of the alcohol, it doesnt affect modern corks so much but it will still eventually break up the cork if on its side for long enough.

[arqueturus]

I'd expect a guarantee of quality only to be honoured on the first purchase from a retailer not buying a through an auction where, as others have stated, you don't know how it's been stored. It's crazy but airing cupboards and wardrobes are really popular ways to store whisky for some reason for those that don't know how they should be stored - bottles on the side in particular!

That said, it was worth a try, you never know what reaction you'll get from a brand.

One thing I would say is that the smell you noticed might just the classic old bottle smell that you get with... well old bottles. It does dissipate after a while I'm told so I would recommend putting the whisky through a simple filer like a coffee paper and and putting a replacement cork in and leaving for a while. You never know!