JOHNNIE WALKER VAULT
COUTURE EXPRESSION SCOTCH WHISKY
HIGHLANDS, SCOTLAND
Yes, it remains the best-selling luxury blended Scotch maker in the world, and yes, it recently celebrated its 200th year. But Johnnie Walker simply refuses to calcify into complacency. And now comes their boldest and best of a recent crop of extraordinary releases: the Johnnie Walker Vault.
Extraordinary, and extraordinarily hard to come by: there are only 25 sets of this in the world, and we’re in possession of two of them.
Launched with characteristic panache at the Met Gala last week, this collection of four bottles (each allied to a season) is not just something rare in the history of this great producer.
It’s something unprecedented.
What we have here, folks, is entree to the famous Johnnie Walker reserves — whiskies from "ghost" distilleries like Brora and Port Dundas that have long since fallen silent, their remaining casks becoming more and more precious with each passing year.
In dipping into this precious reserve, what Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker (no relation to the family, but clearly spiritually aligned) has done, essentially, is to spend irreplaceable currency to bring us something we’re never seen before.
Something transcendent.
Talk about a whisky lover's fantasy league roster!
Spring's "Reinvention Blend" features a 1985 Cragganmore, a seldom-spotted 1977 Caledonian, and a 1978 Port Ellen (a distillery whose remaining bottles now change hands for amounts that would make a decent down payment on a starter home). Summer brings an experimental Cardhu Wine Cask Finish alongside 1990 Clynelish. For Fall, Teaninich does a neat little dance with Port Ellen. Winter goes full-out hedonist, dialing up the Islay intensity with additional Port Ellen and Brora, and all of this backed by a mulled wine sweetness in the form of a 1988 Benrinnes.
A final note on these lovingly blended Scotches: the great fashion designer Olivier Rousteing collaborated on the collection, lending his incomparable aesthetic to the design and packaging. And it’s beautiful, all of it.
But make no mistake: the whisky itself is the show.
You’re going to want to jump on this historic collection quickly — and remember: this is an incredible gift that will only keep on giving, through the months and years.