Duty Free Whisky Shopping

I love 200 ml bottles of whisky! It is the perfect amount to sample solo, with a friend or two and even revisit.

Even better when they come free… as this little one did. Though I will admit, I did not buy the Johnnie Walker 1 L bottle that had it attached.

I will also admit the last time I had any kind of Johnnie Walker was at “The Journey” festival at Mehboob Studios in December 2014. For those in Mumbai end of the year – it really is a fabulous cultural event well worth catching!

However, I digress… let’s get to the whisky…

Johnny Walker ‘The Spice Road’

Johnnie Walker ‘The Spice Road’ NAS 40%

What did I find?

Colour – Amber
Nose – There is a nice cinnamon, honey, as it airs sweetens more, a little smoke, some vanilla, cereals
Palate – Oddly flat, bitter, there’s that cinnamon again however it also has dried ginger and cloves, some peppercorns, quite dry, some malty caramel
Water – Even with just a couple drops its insipid – just don’t!
Finish – Limited, bit woody

At 40% it honestly is a bit wimpy, not complex and while the ‘spices’ are there, it isn’t in a well-rounded lip smacking kind of way.

So I recalibrated my expectations and threw caution to the wind! It was a warm evening..

Would it do well with ice? Not bad.

In fact if this is served at the next ‘The Journey,’ I might go for it… or consider it as a base for a more interesting cocktail – clearly others have this idea too! However as a duty-free exclusive that is unlikely.

So what’s this JW expression all about?

Focused on the lucrative duty-free crowd, the Explorer’s Club Collection with their Trade Route Series features three expressions:

The Spice Road for the journey from Europe to Asia
The Royal Route from Europe to Persia
The Gold Route of the Americas and Caribbean

What do they say about The Spice Road?

A complex whisky with rich flavour and exceptional smoothness. Matured in old oak casks for an intense finish inspired by the spice markets of Asia yet true to the Johnnie Walker signature.

What others say:

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London should have been a massive ‘score’ for the Whisky Lady… however we had such a hectic thoroughly engaged time, there was narry a chance for whisky. Yeah… I know.. seriously. No excuse really acceptable but there you have it!

So I did what all folks do… checked out the airport duty-free offerings.

Here is the challenge… for us merry malt samplers, we are always seeking something ‘new’. Particularly when traveling, it is our ‘duty’ to help supply something less accessible for our fellow adventurers back home from the world of whisky. Which means we don’t completely dismiss duty-free options, however they tend to not quite satisfy the craving for something ‘different’.

First stop in London Heathrow Terminal 4 was the standard duty-free store with a rather limited selection.

Next stop was the wee World of Whisky outlet in the same terminal. A quick glance confirmed that while there were a few more options, none jumped out as ‘must have!’

The fellow there tried to be helpful however I must have seemed like a complete ‘bevri‘ (that’s a female drunk for those who don’t speak Hindi)… as most ‘interesting’ whiskies he suggested were all previously tried…

So then he started cracking open the distiller samples to tempt with:

Mortlach NAS (We’ve tried the 15 before)
Cragganmore (Ditto for the 12, however he pulled out another one which didn’t make the cut)
Dalmore cigar whisky (Interesting but not worth the price)
Aultmore 12 and 21 year (New to our whisky tasting group so a possibility)
Kilchoman (I simply didn’t have the heart to tell him we had a terrific whisky dinner pairing with Kilchoman‘s master distiller Anthony Wills and his lovely wife in Mumbai)

With triumph, he then said “I know! I guarantee you haven’t tried this one! Though I don’t have a bottle open to try…”

That’s when he drew my attention the KininVie 17 year. He couldn’t believe I bought a bottle last year in Singapore as it was new to their stock. I confessed that I’ve yet to open it… however thanks to Ronald of Whiskyriffic, there is a wee sample sitting in my cupboard awaiting attention.

I was seriously tempted by the Linkwood 1988 however the price was steep. I’ll probably regret that decision, but there you have it.

You will know what I DID pick up from future reviews. However all in all it either proved our wee whisky tasting group in Mumbai has acquired a reasonable range of whiskies over the years or the selection was particularly limited.

We single malt drinkers can truly be a ‘promiscuous‘ lot, always seeking a new and interesting partner to dance with before moving on to the next twirl around the dance floor with another partner…

Would you agree?