Originally Posted by
number_6
The fact that you've noticed the similarlity of JW Red and Glenlivet is a good sign (that you care about scotch and have the palate for it). The various JW blends increase in cost for a simple reason: supply and demand (and evaporation rate!). The more expensive blends use more expensive scotch, of increasing age. Blue includes a lot of searching and travel cost as it is made of "stray" barrels that were left behind in distilleries and warehouses, often forgotten about or lacking documentation (so they cannot be sold as a specific whiskey, even though they are). JW buys these odd barrels, sometimes quite old (50+ years can happen) and then blends them to get a surprisingly consistent taste. There are a lot of overtones that Blue has which JW Red/Black/Gold/Green do not.
Is the price worth it? My rule of thumb is that at a certain point, the cost doubles for every 10% improvement in quality. So you pay a lot for small but noticable improvements in flavour.
FT relevance: JW Blue is served by BA in F (in the air) and on the ground in some BA F lounges (mostly in LHR).
What a great answer, thank you so very much. FT proves its valor yet again.
Scotch is my favorite of favorite drinks, and I've had many years of practice with it. I still only rarely find "expensive" whiskies that are better than mass-market Glenlivet or Laphoroig, but that is probably because my definition of "expensive" is laughable.
Since I am clearly talking to an aficianado, may I ask your recommendations for the higher-end stuff? Always on the hunt for great scotch.
Obligatory FT tie-in: one of the joys of my $309 LAX-SNN November fare was discovering that in wee Ireland, whiskeys are generally quite affordable in bars -- $3-$5. They have excellent irish whiskies "on tap" there.
For those that find their way into the Aer Lingus lounge, they also have all-you-can-drink inverted bottles of whiskey at SNN. Though I didn't care for any whiskey at 8 a.m.,
that didn't keep my travel companion from going crazy until the ladies in green cut him off. 
Cheers,
-KF