Head to head · unusually close flavour match
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old vs Johnnie Walker Blue Label
These two are not in the same bracket: £532 a litre of pure alcohol for Johnnie Walker Blue Label against £166 for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old.
Compiled by WhiskeyCask Editorial · Last verified 2026-07-30
Specifications side by side
| The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Johnnie Walker Blue Label | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Single malt | Blended scotch |
| Origin | Speyside, Scotland | Scotland |
| Age | 12 years | No age statement |
| Strength | 43% ABV | 40% ABV |
| Cask | Ex-bourbon barrel, Oloroso sherry butt | Not disclosed |
| Bottle | 700 ml | 700 ml |
| RRP observed | £50 | £149 |
| Per 10cl | £7.14 | £21 |
| Per litre of alcohol | £166 | £532 |
| Chill-filtered | Not stated | Not stated |
What separates them
Both from Scotland.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is a single malt, Johnnie Walker Blue Label a blended scotch.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old states 12 years; Johnnie Walker Blue Label states none.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old lists ex-bourbon barrel and oloroso sherry butt. Johnnie Walker Blue Label publishes no cask detail at all.
Neither states chill filtration.
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old: specifications not yet producer-confirmed.
What the price buys
Johnnie Walker Blue Label is £99 dearer a bottle than The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old.
Strength keeps that ordering: £166 a litre of pure alcohol for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old against £532.
Across the 32 bottles we can cost this way, The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old is 22nd cheapest and Johnnie Walker Blue Label 31st cheapest.
Flavour, compared
View as table
| Axis | The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old | Johnnie Walker Blue Label |
|---|---|---|
| Peaty | 0 | 3 |
| Sweet | 8 | 7 |
| Fruity | 6 | 6 |
| Spicy | 4 | 5 |
| Woody | 5 | 5 |
| Sherried | 6 | 5 |
| Cereal | 5 | 5 |
| Oily | 6 | 7 |
Furthest apart on peaty, 0 against 3. 1 of the eight axes clears 3 points: peaty.
Identical on fruity, woody and cereal.
Each bottle in its own right
The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old
Honey, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sweet without being cloying, and 43% helps.
Full record →Johnnie Walker Blue Label
Silky, honeyed and faintly smoky. Immaculately made, and priced for the box as much as the liquid.
Diageo's own page states no age at all, framing selection by rejection rate instead — only one cask in 10,000 qualifies — with some components from closed 'ghost' distilleries.
Full record →Both listed for gift; only The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old for after dinner; only Johnnie Walker Blue Label for occasion bottle.
Where these specifications come from
Producer and retailer pages for The Balvenie DoubleWood 12 Year Old and Johnnie Walker Blue Label: thebalvenie.com, thebar.com. Figures are what those pages published when we last checked them, on 2026-07-30.