The John Walker Blended Scotch Whisky - tribute to the founding father of Johnnie Walker. 18th October, 2010

To mark the start of a new decade, the House of Walker celebrates the life of its founder with the launch of The John Walker (RRP £2,000), an incredibly special blend of whisky that is the epitome of the Johnnie Walker Blue family of scotch whiskies.

Hand-crafted and made to order in single barrel batches with only 330 bottles available, The John Walker embodies rarity and exclusivity. Presented in a unique, individually numbered Baccarat crystal decanter that is hand blown, polished and engraved by one of only three Master-craftsmen in the world; The John Walker contains whisky blended from 9 hand selected casks. Building from the predecessors “Johnnie Walker Blue Label” and “King George V”, this blend takes the idea of hand selection of extraordinary casks, and takes that to new levels of rarity and craft. Every care has been made to recreate the authentic flavours of a 19th Century blend in John Walker's original style and the whisky has been taken from a range of distilleries, some of which are now closed; making this whisky quite literally priceless. 

The John Walker is the ultimate luxury gift for any discerning gentleman. Encasing the gift is a hand crafted lacquer cabinet with over 60 hours of workmanship used to create the eleven layers of lacquer and luxurious cream leather interior. No detail is left to chance from the Baccarat cut crystal stopper to the 24 Carat Gold plated neck collar and travel stopper.

Inside, the taste of The John Walker whisky starts in sophisticated fashion with the richness of mature fruits slowly following from the more youthful aromas of fresh citrus. The initial burst of flavour is defined by a vanilla oak sweetness, with the Older Speyside whiskies contributing to the amazing smoothness. These casks are designed to give wonderful malty flavours, characteristic of classic 19th Century whiskies. Cambus grain whisky is the unifying force that binds the great Malt whiskies together in “The John Walker”, combining to make a stunning tasting experience.

The John Walker has a RRP of £2,000 and is available exclusively from Harrods.

Tasting Notes:
Appearance –Rich and viscous in the glass - hints at the smoothness to follow.

Nosing – The taste of “The John Walker” starts in sophisticated fashion with the richness of mature fruits slowly following from the more youthful aromas of fresh citrus.

Palate –The initial burst of flavor is defined by a vanilla oak sweetness. Enormous body and elegant structure to the palate. Walker Speyside whiskies contribute to the amazing smoothness.  These casks are designed to give the wonderful malty flavours, characteristic of the 19th Century whiskies. The underlying sweetness is unusually soft. Cambus grain whisky is the unifying force that binds the great Malt whiskies together in “The John Walker”. The Marrying process, the second maturation in small cask, small batch production gives a chance for these great, giant whiskies to work together seamlessly.

Finish – Finally as the big, elegant flavours gradually evolve, there is a slowly emerging echo of smoke that finishes this unique blend of rarely seen whiskies. 

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