Hey! Are you in the market for a shit blended scotch that’s trying to act like it’s not a plastic bottle bitch? Are you ready for the Evan Williams to the Jack Daniels of the Johnnie Walker Blended scotch world? Then look no further friends because once you were lost, now you are found. Although on second thought maybe looking further is a much better idea.
This doesn’t even mix will in coke. We don’t add those to scotch scores, but when it comes to this we were grasping at straws on what to actually do with it. Ultimately this will just become the bad whiskey, to be mixed in a decanter with others in a hope that some good can be brought from it.
What they Say: “Named for one of the great whisky men of modern history, John Barr reserve blend marries single malt and grain whiskies from the Speyside and Highland regions. This harmonious blend is smooth, elegant and refined, like its namesake who introduced the world to a richer style of scotch whisky. It is tradition, moved forward.”
Taste: 3.0 – Starting off it’s not great. Overall just a bad whiskey.
Aftertaste: 1.5 – That just tastes like a bad whiskey mixed with sherry. It’s just vile.
Burn/Smooth: 2.0 – That burns, and in no imaginable way is considered smooth.
Aroma: 4.0 – It smells like a sherry-based whiskey – there’s an almost date/raisin like smell here as well. Not really great though.
Honesty: 2.5 – Smooth, elegant, and refined. 3 words that will haunt the scores here because if there were ever to be a massive lie it’s those 3 words on a bottle of this whisky.
Mixability: 4.5
W/ Rocks: 4.5 – That does smooth out some of the harshnesses, but it’s still not a great taste.
Rusty Nail: 4.5 – Again, not a great rusty nail, even adjusting the ratios back and forth.
Value: 1.0 – Nope. Nadda. Not gonna happen. This was bought for the purpose of the review, but if you are a dear reader of this review – we sincerely hope you see the warning to not buy this. Even at $17 way too high.
Google Shop Average: $17
Website: http://www.johnbarrwhisky.com/
Reviewer Scores:
BuffaloJern: 2.0
Want to compare this spirit against our archives? Visit our statistics page.
Metric Score: 18.5/70 |+| Metric Average: 2.64 |+| Reviewer Average: 2.0
New to Honest Booze Reviews, or just wondering how we score? See our FAQ/Review Policy.
Final Thoughts: Let this be the lesson, good branding and bottling design are not the hallmarks of what’s actually good. There’s a saying we have here at HBR that there is a whiskey for everybody. It might be from somewhere halfway across the world, it could be the richest scotch or the lightest moonshine – but there is something for everyone. This though? It’s doubtful this is even the whisky for John Barr himself let alone anyone else.
I almost spit out a mouthful of John Barr reading the line “shit blended”.
Hello snob, I am a regular scotch drinker. I am 85 years old and have drank my share of bad scotch. This is not a high value scotch, but suits my taste. As for suit scotch there are a lot of them, but this is not one of them.
Totally agree with Harlan. An opinion is just *that* I have read lots of reviews, and tried lots of high and low scotch. There are way more good, positive reviews on John Barr black label then bad. It is a very good scotch and best neat.
There are certainly other blended whiskies I’d rather have. My biggest complaint was that it just didn’t have much personality or flavor to it. The nose was kind of a red flag that nothing great was in store, but it wasn’t expensive so I couldn’t complain. But on drinking, there just wasn’t much going on, although a little heat. Maybe got the real reserve because it wasn’t especially harsh.
Mr. Behnke seems to like it, though. As they say, de gustibus non disputandum est. Honestly, I’d be easier on my pocket book if I did enjoy it more!
One of the worst Whisky I have taken in my life, please don’t prefer these type ok Whisky. Wast of money and wast of time on consuming these type of brands, need to ban these type of brands.
Just weak is my impression. I didn’t think much of the flavor that was there. Putting it on the rocks just weakened an already weak flavor. If you wan’t a good bottom shelf scotch, I recommend Teacher’s.
Like the other gentleman said. “It has no personality.” The finish is overwhelmingly vanilla. No depth of smoke to balance. It would make for a good introduction to whiskey for bourbon drinkers.