JOHNNIE WALKER 50 YEAR OLD
As the luxury whisky market keeps on booming, more Scotch whisky companies are looking to catch up with Macallan, eagerly jumping in with new high-end releases. This has included the blends. Some blended whisky brands already have edged into the premium market with bottles as expensive as some of the costliest single malts. Now, top blended-whisky brand Johnnie Walker has thrown its proverbial tam o’shanter into the ring by releasing its oldest whisky yet, the 50-year-old John Walker Masters’ Edition.
- Limited, extremely rare 50 year whisky
Johnnie Walker Global Brand Director John Williams said: “Fifty-year-old whiskies are very rare. Whiskies of this age have incredible character but it takes great skill to reveal their flavour and then balance them so people can appreciate the end result.”
In this case, Johnnie Walker Master Blender Jim Beveridge sourced malts from Glen Albyn, Glenury Royal and Blair Athol distilleries – the latter the only one still operating – as well as grain whiskies from the distilleries of Caledonian, Cambus and Port Dundas.
The whiskies were then married together in a special bespoke cask. Just 100 decanters have been created, which will be available in limited selected markets. Each bottle is bottled at a concentration of 43.3% ABV, with a volume of 700 ml.
- Rich flavor, exquisite craft design
Johnnie Walker master blender Jim Beveridge said: “Each drop of this whisky has been hand-selected from some of the most valuable and precious casks of malt and grain whiskies to be found in our reserves,” he said. “About 20 years ago, Johnnie Walker blenders recognized that these individual whiskies were very special and the decision was made to put them aside for special use, allowing each of them to continue to mature in their casks, knowing that, in time, something even more remarkable would emerge.”
Johnnie Walker describes the taste of the whisky as “luscious blackcurrants and citrus giving way to rich, creamy dark chocolate and a long, gentle and warming finish with cooling menthol and a subtle smokiness.” Each bottle is hand-numbered and presented in a black Baccarat decanter housed in a cabinet made by N.E.J. Stevenson, Cabinet Makers by Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen.
