When discussing whisky’s numerous flavour profiles, it always surprises me how so many people describe whisky as lacking sweetness. Some of the most prominent and common tasting notes used to describe whisky are honey, toffee, caramel, maple syrup, treacle, and brown sugar. What are all these things, other than delicious and bad for your teeth? They’re all sweet! 

Now, while I don’t have the sweetest tooth in the world, there are times when I do crave something sweet and sugary, usually at the end of the long day in the office, or at a distillery. This could come in the form of a slice of cake, a bar of chocolate, a family-sized bag of sweets (don’t judge me, shrinkflation is real!), or a dram of whisky. That’s right, whisky can indeed taste sweet. 

For those of you out there partial to a sweeter whisky, Johnnie Walker’s latest release could be right up your street. Red Soul promises a smoother, sweeter take on the best-selling blended Scotch, and is the perfect entry point for people looking to become Bonafide Scotch drinkers. 

Here are a few thoughts. 

Diageo Looking to Target Non-Whisky Drinkers

As shocking and unbelievably distressing as it may be, there are in fact drinkers out there who, *gasp* claim to NOT enjoy whisky. Shocking, I know. 

Listen, I know that whisky can be an acquired taste, especially for those new to it. It has a lot of bite and burn, it can be harsh on the palate, and in the case of an Islay, or peated dram, it can taste smoky, briny, and medicinal. Those tasting notes are hardly likely to convince non-whisky drinkers to give it a try for the first time, despite working amazingly well. 

This is part of the reason why blended Scotch proved so popular all those decades ago. It helped impart sweeter, smoother, less-harsh characters into the whisky, making it far more palatable for newbies. To this day, Johnnie Walker Red Label is considered the world’s most popular blended Scotch, and is their best-selling dram of all time. 

Well, in an ambitious effort to recruit more whisky drinkers and introduce more people to the many pleasures a fine blended malt can bring, drinks giants Diageo have recently unveiled Johnnie Walker Red Soul. This promises to be a sweeter, smoother, more “drinkable” take on JW’s flagship blended malt. 

Ever-the-opportunists, Diageo and Johnnie Walker didn’t rush into this blind. They did their due diligence and crunched the stats. According to Diageo, as many as 26% of non-Scotch drinkers are open to drinking it, with many stating that they “wished they enjoyed it”. They state that, one of the things putting them off is a lack of sweetness and sweet flavours. Red Soul aims to give these people what they want, and showcase the fact that whisky can taste sweet and delicious at the same time.