JOHNNIE WALKER 200th YEAR AND OTHER SPECIAL RELEASES

 BOUQUET OF RARE RELEASES FROM JOHNNIE WALKER

THE 28 YEAR OLD MIDNIGHT BLEND

Released by Johnnie Walker, this 28 Year Old Midnight Blend is a limited-edition whisky and the fifth and final blend of the John Walker & Sons Private Collection.

A truly indulgent whisky, this blend features aged whiskies from distilleries including Cambus (grain) in the Lowlands, Strathmillon in Speyside, Caol Ila on Islay and Clynelish in the Highlands. When it comes to flavour, Midnight Blend’s complex character is layered with butterscotch, caramel and toffee flavours and a touch of fruitiness and spice.

The John Walker & Sons Private Collection is a series of annual, limited edition Scotch whiskies featuring extremely rare – and in many cases irreplaceable – casks of their finest single malt and grain whiskies drawn from the four corners of Scotland. It celebrates the innovative spirit and passion of the whisky experts, as they explore the rich flavours innate to Johnnie Walker.

The 28 Year Old Midnight Blend is the collection’s richest and most indulgent Scotch yet. It is a sybarite’s whisky, to be savoured after dinner. Only 3,888 individually numbered collectible decanters have been released,each bottle containing rare and precious whiskies aged for a minimum of 28 years.

200th Anniversary Releases

Johnnie Walker has launched three new whiskies and a limited-edition bottle design for its Blue Label expression to commemorate its 200th anniversary. The brand’s three new expressions are Johnnie Walker Legendary Eight, John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend, and John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend.

Johnnie Walker Legendary Eight is a blend of whiskies from eight ‘legendary’ distilleries that were operating when the brand was established in 1820. Its flavour profile is described as ‘smooth and mellow’.

John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend gains its inspiration from the launch of the brand’s Old Highland Whisky expression in the 1860s, which became the company’s first internationally distributed product. This ‘rich and complex’ spirit is based on ‘the flavours found in the Walker family’s grocery store in the 1860s’, and the blend contains whiskies made in distilleries operating in that time period.

John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend also takes the Walker family grocery store as inspiration, this time ‘re-imagining the exotic flavours that shaped his imagination. The expression is made with whiskies that are all aged a minimum of 28 years, with components from now-defunct distilleries including Pittyvaich, Cambus and Port Ellen.

In addition, the brand has unveiled a new limited-edition pack design for its Blue Label bottling, themed around the cities and countries that have played a role in the brand’s evolution. It features illustrations of landmarks and symbols that represent these locations.

The four new releases will be available from October on a limited basis.

The Masters’ Edition: The First 50 Year Old Johnnie Walker

  

The John Walker Masters' Edition is an elegant and triple-matured Scotch whisky that has been crafted from six exceptionally rare whiskies, each aged for a minimum of 50 years. The whiskies in the The John Walker Masters' Edition have been drawn from ancient distilleries that existed during the lifetime of founder John Walker (1805-1857). Five of the six distilleries whose irreplaceable whiskies feature in The John Walker Masters' Edition now lie silent.

The Edition features single malt whiskies drawn from some of the oldest available stocks from the closed Glen Albyn and Glenury Royal distilleries  and the much-celebrated Blair Athol distillery, which stands at the gateway to the Scottish Highlands. The three grain whiskies used in its crafting are drawn from the ghost distilleries of Caledonian, Cambus and Port Dundas.

Only 100 bottles of The John Walker Masters' Edition have been created. This exclusive Scotch whisky takes its name from the masterly expertise in whisky as well as presentation. A special release of The John Walker, it is presented in a bespoke, individually numbered, rare double-cased black crystal Baccarat decanter and comes housed in an elegant cabinet.

The Edition is a triple-matured Scotch whisky. Finished in small batches in a bespoke marrying cask made of 100 year oak staves. It has a natural cask strength ABV of 43.3% and an RRP of $25,000 (US). It is available in limited, selected markets.

This whisky is one of the most expensive blends ever produced. The top spot belongs to Royal Salute’s Tribute to Honour, which is priced at £150,000 a bottle. While the John Walker Masters’ Edition is older than the Tribute to Honour, Royal Salute’s parent company, Pernod Ricard, has also just released its own 50-year-old blend with Chivas Regal.

Johnnie Walker Master’s Ruby Reserve

                             

The second release in Johnnie Walker's Master's Edition series sees a 40 Year Old expression in the market. Launched globally in March 2020, and limited to just 398 bottles, this Ruby Reserve is a rich, perfectly balanced 40-year-old Scotch, made in celebration of Master Blender Jim Beveridge’s ruby anniversary at Johnnie Walker by exploring whiskies that have matured for at least four decades, including expressions that were amongst the first whiskies Jim worked with.

From the very finest casks in the Johnnie Walker reserves, eight exquisite hand-selected whiskies have been picked, including whisky from the ‘ghost’ distilleries of Cambus, Carsebridge, Pittyvaich and Port Ellen. These rare whiskies are balanced beautifully with highly-aged expressions from the distilleries of Talisker, Royal Lochnagar, Glendullan and Cragganmore. The incredibly rare blend is priced at £15,000 (approx $19,450).

The ‘ghost’ whiskies from Cambus, Carsebridge and Pittyvaich bring layers of rich fruit flavour and are combined with the flavours of dark chocolate, plums and cherries found in the wonderfully aged expressions of Royal Lochnagar, Glendullan and Cragganmore and the soft aromatic sea salt notes of Talisker and Port Ellen – creating a beautiful, full-bodied whisky.The liquid is presented in a decanter befitting of its opulence. The Baccarat crystal decanter has a beautiful, hand-crafted golden-red colour to represent Jim’s ruby anniversary. It is also a hallmark of Baccarat’s finest pieces. To create it, clear crystal is gradually fused with 24-carat gold powder at exactly 540°C to achieve the iconic golden red finish.