Johnnie Walker Green--Discontinued?


dangolf18

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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?

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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, t

Ah yes - I forgot our poor Ozzie brethren.

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.....

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!

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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).

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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.

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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.

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...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...

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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.

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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.

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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?

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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.

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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.

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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 peace.gif

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  • 4 weeks later...

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!

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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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