Johnnie Walker Black Ruby
Blended Scotch Whisky | 40% ABV
Score: 5/10
Average. In a Good Way
TL;DR
So ‘ruby’ it makes you wonder what came first, the name or the flavour
Putting a name to a face
There’s no denying that a name carries serious weight. It’s more than just the sounds and syllables that spew from our lips. It can spark emotions, shape perceptions and become a cornerstone of an identity.
It’s especially true when it’s a person. It’s a powerful thing to hand someone, especially when that someone hasn’t even arrived earthside yet.
This deep pit of thought is the headspace that I have been pacing for the last eight months. How do you choose a name for someone who has yet to open their eyes, let alone reveal their personality? With baby number two arriving - any moment now - we still haven’t landed upon, or at least agreed upon, the label they’ll carry for life. My wife works in education, which adds another layer of complexity. Let's just say there are some names that come preloaded with memories of ‘lively’ classroom personalities.
Friends have recommended using ‘Name Tinder’ apps, where you swipe left or right on baby names and see where your tastes overlap. Out of an entire database of boys' names, we managed to agree on a whopping nine names. Most of those were either already on our shared spreadsheet, or swipes made in error - to our disappointment. To make it trickier, meme culture has branded certain names with internet stereotypes narrowing the list: Karen and Kyle for example. There are deep reddit threads with people sharing their name-based experiences with almost unanimous agreement.
With our first child, we got lucky as the final decision was provided by a special moment. From narrowing it down to two choices, days before the birth, a flower we’d never seen before began blooming right outside our door. One of the names literally sprang up on our doorstep. Sadly this time, the half a dozen choices we are still juggling won’t be helped by fresh foliage.
For those wondering, many whisky-based names were put forward, including some Dramface aliases, with a couple lasting into this final round. My current plan is to wait until we see his scrunched up little face and go from there, but this would just be another thing to mentally pack in with remembering the car seat and go-bag. I like the idea of the name fitting the baby, not the other way around.
In fact, it feels like it makes sense in the naming of all things and feels much more literal. Take “fireplace” or “toothbrush” for example. We can make it a lot more fun too:
Tinfoil - Crunchy Metal Paper
Aquarium - Wet Fish House
Fan - Portable Wind
Gloves - Hand Socks
Ok sure, they are all daft and twisting pre-existing names of things, but a bit of whimsy nonetheless. I would love to see your hyper-literal naming choices in the comments. But now I need to pivot this over to whisky…
In our whisky world, names also hold great meaning. Of course most whisky expressions' names often reflect the distillery and age statement. Lagavulin 16, Laphroaig 10, Speyburn 15… all very literal. Sometimes the name provides an insight into the process, Wire Works Bourbon Barrel, Benromach Contrasts: Peat Smoke.
You then get releases reflecting a flavour character or visual representation: Compass Box Orchard House and of course the bottle this ramble is leading to - Johnnie Walker Black Ruby.
However, I want to know what came first? The name? Or the flavour?
Review
Johnnie Walker Black Ruby, Blended Scotch Whisky, NAS, 40% ABV
£38 and general availability
Described as “A smooth Blended Scotch Whisky loaded with notes of fruit flavour”, this bottle slots into the modern Johnnie Walker line up. Crafted by Emma Walker and marketed as a vibrant and rich cocktail mixer, how does it hold up neat - and does it live up to this vivid name?
Score: 5/10
Average. In a Good Way
TL;DR
So ‘ruby’ it makes you wonder what came first, the name or the flavour
Nose
Blackcurrant is instantly very prominent on the nose, carried by a sweet, soft and inoffensive smoke. Raisins, apples and raspberries provide quite the summer fruit melody. A musty, metallic aroma hangs in the air, like being under an old tin roof in the hot sun.
Palate
It hits the ‘smooth’ texture they are targeting for this release, however I feel ‘thin’ would be a better-suited descriptor. Like the nose, I am discovering quite a potent metallic tang on the tongue which sadly distracts from the other impressive fruits which, with some time, can be found.
From raspberry jam tarts to strawberry Eton mess, it sits on the sweeter side of Scotch in a pleasant and inoffensive way. A bit like a quiche at a bring-a-dish group picnic.
A fresh finish, maybe a short stint of menthol or the remnants of toothpaste, which was too closely followed by a can of Diet Coke.
The Dregs
In truth, my expectations for this release were low. I judged this non age statement by its vague name nodding to sherry forward notes and expecting it to be similar to their Sherry Edition Black Label release. Black Ruby performs adequately and clears the bottom level bar. Just.
Compared to other sherry-led blends -such as Turntable’s Bittersweet Symphony - these are worlds apart, but that is only to be expected as they were released for two very different markets.
Of course, I have had to test this as the primary component of an Old Fashioned cocktail to give this a fair run. After all you can’t judge a fish on its tree climbing ability. Sadly, the hefty measure I added faded so far into the background I couldn’t note what spirit had been added to the sugar syrup.
In my ever-growing spreadsheet of Johnnie Walker it sits nicely in the middle for me and performs much greater than its sister product of Johnnie Walker Black Label Sherry Finish Whisky. The age may have gone, but it carries a much greater flavour.
So even though I have continually confused the names as “Black Cherry” and “Red Ruby” - so much so that I’ve had to triple check this review - it still lives up to the name.
And that in itself, as I know all too well, is an achievement.
Score: 5/10
Tried this? Share your thoughts in the comments below. GG
-
Dramface is free.
Its fierce independence and community-focused content is funded by that same community. We don’t do ads, sponsorships or paid-for content. If you like what we do you can support us by becoming a Dramface member for the price of a magazine.
However, if you’ve found a particular article valuable, you also have the option to make a direct donation to the writer, here: buy me a dram - you’d make their day. Thank you.
For more on Dramface and our funding read our about page here.
