Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet review

Johnnie Walker, the world’s number-one Scotch Whisky, has a new edition of Blue Label to get all excited about: Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet whisky*. 

Created in collaboration with luxury skiwear and lifestyle brand, Perfect Moment, this launch celebrates “the Après Ski occasion”, which basically means it’s targeted towards a more luxury, fashion-forward market. 

There’s also some celeb action through the involvement of Johnnie Walker Blue Label ambassador and Perfect Moment shareholder, Priyanka Chopra Jonas. She brings authenticity to the launch and injects a sense of luxury fashion into the world of whisky, according to the global marketing and innovation director for the big JW, João Matos. The whisky follows in the footsteps of the first release of the Cobalt series, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Elusive Umami 2023, which was made in partnership with Chef Kei Kobayashi. It’s all très premium, darling. As they say on the slopes. Presumably. 

Just look at that reversible bottle bag that comes with the product. Whisky generally doesn’t do much in the way of innovative merchandising. Although, with a huge retail space in its flagship brand home, Johnnie Walker Princes Street Edinburgh, this whisky giant does better than most. “The striding man lends itself quite nicely to being used for merch”, says Matos, who sees this accessory as something that will appeal to whisky drinkers and fashion lovers. “The crossbody reversible bag merges style with function and means that rather than creating recyclable packaging we’re creating something that’s completely reusable”.

As whisky people, however, we’re more focused on the liquid itself. And there’s plenty to say about it. Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker’s master blender (who is, if I may, the boss), was kind enough to answer our questions to help us do that. Let’s talk Blue Label Ice Chalet!

The conception of a Johnnie Walker blend

Before Walker starts any blending process, she considers a few things: who will be drinking this whisky, how will they be drinking it, where will they be drinking it, will this whisky be a limited edition or an ongoing product and so on. “For Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet, we looked at the Apres Ski drinking experience, who will the drinker be with and where, and how fabulous they will be looking, and we worked backwards from there to create a whisky that complimented this,” she explains.

This then helps them to start creating a recipe on paper. The brainstorming of flavour profiles is made simpler with access to an inventory of more than 10 million casks of maturing whisky. Once they know what they want, they’ll have to find the distilleries and maturation styles to match. For Ice Chalet, the idea of skiing and landscapes, and the coldness that comes with them is not an unfamiliar concept to the Scots. “There is a longstanding history of skiing in the Highlands of Scotland, and so some of the malts in this whisky have come from there, the most northern, and highest altitude distilleries such as Brora, Clynelish and Dalwhinnie,” Walker remarks. 

This was very much the genesis for the concept of the whisky, which blender George Harper took a step further by suggesting the brand use Met Office data to find which of Diageo’s distilleries experienced the coldest winters. “Working together with George Harper is always rewarding and definitely was on this project! It was really rewarding to see this liquid come to life, from the concept on paper, including the ‘perfect moment’ of George’s great idea of using the Met Office data for ‘guidance’, leading to a greater understanding of the impact of temperature on distilling science and flavour,” Walker says. 

The whiskies in Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet

This is not simply a gimmick, temperature and climate are important factors that contribute to a whisky’s character. “The colder the weather the bigger the temperature differentiation between the still and the air which means the spirit condenses faster resulting in less copper contact. More contact isn’t a bad thing, it just means that the flavours you get from the spirit are slightly different so we use them to add different characteristics,” Walker says. “The spirit produced is more complex and experiences a slower, more gentle maturation start, allowing more distinctive distillery character to shine through.” 

Take Dalwhinne, for example. Walker says the whisky distilled for Winter Gold has a marked difference depending on when it was distilled and she uses those contrasts as colours to paint with. “Dalwhinnie is our highest altitude distillery and anyone who’s driven the A9 in winter will know how cold and wintery the weather here can be. This temperature differential creates an interesting range of flavours at Dalwhinnie throughout the year that a blender loves to work with, creating complexity and depth with sweet delicate fruit, and honeyed texture”. 

Ice Chalet also contains the rich and waxy joys of Clynelish and Brora. “They are our most Northerly distilleries and are relatively isolated. Clynelish talks to the place it’s made – clover, wax and honey from the surrounding fields, with citrus and sea salt spray talking to the sea. The whisky from ‘old’ Brora has depth and richness, with gentle old smoke that is a joy and honour to work with,” Walker explains. She then reveals that she’s tasted early samples of Brora whisky from the new distillery and that it’s looking “bloody good”.

I also loved hearing Walker talk about “the clean and precise Cameronbridge”, and how she regarded it as a component on the same level as the malts. Then there’s lovely Roseilse. Oh, Roseilse. How you have stolen my heart these last two Special Releases. Walker reveals some made into Ice Chalet, further increasing the intrigue. “Stuart Morrison in the team has showcased the beautiful flavours we find in Roseisle through the two Diageo Special Releases bottlings and we’re learning more about this whisky every day. Having different liquid styles, for example fruity, grassy, sulphury, allows us to almost blend within a blend, using Roseisle to accentuate the flavour style we’re looking to create in the final whisky”.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet Review

I did manage to taste a sample of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet, but full disclosure, it was served over ice. Great for the concept, but not as easy for a tasting note. Here’s Walker on what to expect: “We specifically looked for whiskies that would evoke a sense of winter in the mountains by looking for notes of sweet, creamy vanilla, spiced apples and plums and a gentle wood smoke – I even find there is a soft note of sherry Christmas cake that comes through”. 

I can say I thoroughly enjoyed my whisky on ice. I don’t have a side-by-side comparison with a neat sample to be sure, but there’s a very elegant, ripe fruitiness to it and a rich sherried undertone that Walker tells me particularly shines when Ice Chalet is taken on the rocks. “We always say that whisky should be drunk how you enjoy it whether that’s neat, with ice or in a cocktail,” Walker says, commending Ice Chalet’s versatility. The Ice Chalet Perfect Highball we were served on arrival – a combination of Ice Chalet and Champagne, apple, mint, and blue matcha – was magnificent, so I can attest to that. 

“What I love about Johnnie Walker is we’re all about looking to the future whilst also learning from what has come before us”, Walker summarises, neatly. “We create whisky for other people and our consumers; they’re at the forefront of every idea, concept and brief. We look to create blends that appeal to a wide audience and are versatile in terms of how they can be enjoyed. We also feel connected to pioneers in culture who share that same passion for progress that has been part of the Johnnie Walker DNA since our founder John Walker opened the doors to a small grocery store in rural Scotland more than 200 years ago”. 

You can buy Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ice Chalet now.

*Current gift with purchase promotion: buy a bottle and get two free Glencairn Cut Crystal Glasses!

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