Glenlivet 18 or johnny walker gold which is better a why?

Question

can some please help ..a what do you think

Answer 1

Glenlivit 18 is a good single malt, better than McCallan, not as good as Mortlach. Another good single malt that I also prefer to Glenlivit is Yamazaki (from Japan's Suntory distillers). Most single malts have an single distinctive dominant flavor. That's why single malt drinkers rarely drink anything other that the one they have found the like they best. To me, for example, McCallan has a too sweet and fruity taste. I haven't had Glenlivit in quite a while, but I seem to remember it being a bit on the oaky side, picking up too much of the flavor from the cask.

Johnnie Walker Gold is the best blended Scotch around, for under $300 a bottle. If you want the very best and are willing to pay more, then try Johnnie Walker Blue.

Last month I did a tasting with a couple of people, and among three single malts and JW Gold, we all preferred the Yamazaki over any of the Scotish labels we tried, including McCallan, with the JW Gold coming in second.

Answer 2

JW Gold Label is certainly rarer and more expensive.  But Glenlivet (as with any single malt) will have a more distinctive flavor when sipped.

The thing is, though, who's going to be drinking it.  Someone, whether you, your father, or some bloke on the dole, may prefer to drink whisky neat, in which case the Glenlivet is probably the better choice.  Some people can taste the difference between a pricey bottle of whisky over a cheap one, but most can't.  The sole difference to them between (for example) Gold label and Red label would be simply a matter of smoothness, which isn't something one normally tosses around money quite so freely for.

If it's to be had with ice, definitely the JW Gold; if it's to be mixed with water, soda, or coke, (or anything else for that matter), don't botter with the good stuff at all.  You can easily pick up a half-dozen of cheapies for the same price, and 99 percent of people would never taste the difference (that last one percent know better than to waste the anything as costly as Gold Label for a mixer).

Answer 3

The Glenlivet is a single malt scotch. It's going to have flavors, nuances, and aromas that I am assuming you might not appreciate because you're asking this question.

The JW Gold is a blended scotch. 90% of scotch drinkers prefer the blended scotches. These are made by combining a number of single-malts in order to get their distinctive flavors.

I prefer the Glenlivet. You will prefer the Gold (that's an assumption based upon the fact that you asked the question and 90% of people prefer blends). If you want a great JW, though, drink the Blue.

Answer 4

My personal choice would be the Glenlivet 18 yr old.  It's very smooth and has a wealth of flavor.  Very tasty.

As the previous poster stated, Glenlivet is a single malt scotch and Johnny Walker is a blend.

Single malt scotches are generally considered to be better (in the scotch connoisseur world) because of nuances of flavor and character, and are considered "high end".  Blended scotches are considered to be "low end", although there are some blends that are considered to be better than others.

For the casual scotch drinker, Johnny Walker is fine.  The various Johnny Walker's supposedly range from low end to high end as follows (Red, Black, Gold, Blue).  Although I've drank Black (about $20 a bottle) and Blue (about $180 a bottle) and there really isn't that much difference IMHO.