Expert: Paul Wagner - 8/10/2009

Question
QUESTION: dear Paul,  I read your earlier questions/answers re. JW GOLD LABLE "reserve".  I even took your suggestion and wrote to Diageo, but nothing from them yet.  The main quesiton is: is jw gold lable "reserve" 18 yr old whiskey? and is it even made by Johnnie Walker?  fyi, it doesnt state the "18 years" on the bottle

ANSWER: Hi Bilal

Johnny Walker has different labels for different countries, so there is no hard and fast rule.  The original gold label did specify how long it had been aged--but I don't think ANY of the gold labels do that now.  THe goal is to make a whiskey that tastes like an 18 year-old whiskey--but they don't want to be constrained by the legal limitations that would apply if they put that on the label.

Paul Wagner

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Paul, thanks a million for your quick response.  would you know if jw even makes Gold Lable reserve? we have to worry about fakes.  If they indeed do make it then I'm fine, but if not then it gets tricky. If you can confirm that they do have this packaging for any market, then i dont have to worry

tks
Bilal

Answer
Hi Bilal

Yes, Johnny Walker makes a Gold Label reserve--but like all Johnny Walker products, you should see the words "Johnny Walker" in smaller print just above the words Gold Label--at least, that is how it looks on all the labels I have seen.

Paul Wagner