mybat,
As someone who can tell the difference between Coke, Pepsi, RC Cola, and tell the difference between coffee made of Arabica coffee beans and coffee made of Robusta Tree coffee beans, I assure you that I have no trouble tasting the difference between fine whiskey (such as JW blue, green or gold) and low quality whiskey (such as JW red and black labels). And I would not be surprised to hear that most people can taste the difference.