Whisky Review: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare

I’ve owned a bottle of Brora. Unfortunately, it was a Gordon and Macphail Connoisseur’s Choice, which lacked adequate depth, opting instead for sweet trendy scents and flavors. Coal-fueled peat smoke was nowhere to be found. Of course, this was to be expected from a 1982 vintage. Do I regret paying handsomely for my bottle? Oh hell no. As for the dram in front of me today . . . thankfully, it harbors a few “ghost notes” that remind me of peatier Broras, which I had the opportunity to taste at friends’ houses.rnrnThis Walker blend is very well-integrated. Everything comes together holistically in a way that would please just about anyone who enjoys good Scotch whisky. Smoke is a mere whisper–far less pronounced than sherry notes, or wood esters.rnrnPerhaps Ghost and Rare is the closest you will ever come to drinking a “haunted” whisky. Can it be said, however, that a bottle of rare elixirs, taken from three “silent” distilleries, is worth a price tag of three to four hundred dollars? Good question. It’s worth reminding you that there are five other spirits in the blend, as well.rnrnLet me say, first of all, that the hundred dollar window between three to four hundred dollars represents a very wide range of prices. If you feel inclined to purchase a bottle, then do yourself a favor and shop around a little. Personally, I think Ghost and Rare could make for a charming gift to the person who already owns a respectable whisky collection, and yet still values the casks of bygone distilleries.rnrnWe’re talking about Cambus (and Brora), Pittyvaich (and Brora), as well as . . . what was the third distillery again? Ha, ha. Even if the person on the receiving end of your gesture isn’t acquainted with Brora, most people who earn a good living have heard the name Johnnie Walker Blue. “Like attracts like,” as mystics have been known to say. A very special blue, packaged in a handsome box, along with a rather intriguing story, could generate a sense of mystery, as well as interest, on the receiving end of a gift, even if the receiver isn’t a whisky fanatic.rnrnPersonally, I’ve never been terribly keen on blends without age statements, or blends with grain. Just last week, I reviewed “Timorous Beastie,” a 40-year-old Highland Blended Malt Scotch. No, this whisky doesn’t claim to have any Brora attached to its rather silly name, but the bottle contains a damned good blended malt. And that’s why I rated Timorous Beastie half a star higher than the more smartly marketed Ghost and Rare. For me, the quality of a whisky is what counts most at the end of the day. But I’m a critic, a purist, an aesthete of magickal broths. As such, I would kill for the chance to taste a few drops of old school, coal-smoked Brora–even if it was poured out of a dead man’s boot.rnrnIronically, Diageo has announced plans to reopen Brora as a distillery. So the old stock won’t technically be from a “silent” distillery much longer–although, in my book, original, pre-1984, Brora will always hold 99% of the mystique. This said, it’s likely that some old Brora stock has occasionally found its way into Walker blends in the past, without any of the media hype that Ghost and Rare is enjoying. Yes, that’s right, I’m thinking of older bottles of Johnnie Walker Green label, “back in the day.”