Johnnie Walker is nothing short of iconic - it is the most recognisable blended Scotch whisky, and has certainly come a long way since its Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, origins as a grocery shop where John Walker had begun crafting bespoke Scotch blends for his customers. Today the brand is alittle over 200 years ago and more successful than John Walker probably could have ever dreamt of!

And of course a good deal of that success comes from the unbroken lineage of Master Blenders who have not only kept the flagship cuvees consistent, but have also continuously experimented and explored new manifestations of what both Johnnie Walker and blended Scotch could be. It's often one foot steeped in heritage, and the other toeing the line of reimagining it all - a task that is today helmed by Dr. Emma Walker (who by the way is not related to the Walker family from whom Johnnie Walker was established).

Another key dimension to Johnnie Walker's success is also very much the distilleries it keeps in its stables - many of which are themselves iconic, and with their own veritable fanbase. That all offers Johnnie Walker some 10 million casks to pick from, across 29 distilleries! It's a massive operation, and at the very same time, an incredibly delicate one, when you consider how much needs to be coordinated in order to isolate just one flavour profile, and then assembling it all - but that's what Johnnie Walker does best.

And so on this fine day, I'm on to visit Johnnie Walker's Vault pop-up experience in Singapore, where you can now book a private session with Dr Emma Walker herself who will turn your life story into a bespoke blend made just for you - as was practiced in the days of John Walker!

Dr Emma Walker with Yoyo Cao.

I got to try my hand at recreating one of these bespoke blends that was created for an Asia-based fashionista, Yoyo Cao, which I've documented here.

| Read: We Get To Be A Johnnie Walker Blender For An Hour: A Sneak Peak Of Bespoke Blended Scotch At Johnnie Walker Vault

But also we're going to get a little taste of the recently released Johnnie Walker 52 Year Old, which is also the oldest Johnnie Walker with an age statement today. This is the first ultra-aged expression debuted by Dr Emma Walker, and is said to pay homage to John Walker and his son Alexander Walker, who were both 52 years of age as well, and thus celebrates the artistry of blending - very much the hallmark of Johnnie Walker.

We're told that the Johnnie Walker 52 Year Old, bottled at 41.2% (natural cask strength) is composed of:

Single Malt: Blair Athol, Glenury Royal, Glenlochy, Glen Albyn, Dalwhinnie and Brora.

Single Grain: Cambus and Carsebridge  

And so just pause for a second and consider that each of these components was drawn from a cask that held whisky for at least 52 years! Many of these distilleries are ghost distilleries and aren't even operational anymore - and one of them is very much in the midst of being revived. Just 200 bottles of the Johnnie Walker 52 Year Old is being released.

 It's pretty wild!

Let's go!

Whisky Review: Johnnie Walker 52 Year Old, 41.2% ABV

Tasting Notes

Colour: Honey

Aroma: It opens delicate and fresh, replete with tones of vanilla, honey, and bags of cereal, grain and oats. Wafting about with elegances are orchard fruits of apples and pears, garnished with white florals of jasmine and elderflower. It calls towards such depth and holds up with great richness even as it keeps intact this brightness and lifted quality. More on orchard fruit compote and dried meadowy grass, with a honeyed core. There's subtle streaks of meaty oiliness and kombu salinity that flecks about.

Taste: Medium-bodied here, it starts off industrial with a smokiness of well worked machinery coaxed with some grease. This then opens up more to showcase some of that medicinal iodine and alittle bit of fresh seaweed too, backed up by some leather polish and well worn leather. It increasingly develops to give a more meadowy quality of dried white florals, linens, with some of that orchard fruits of apples and pears, drizzled with some honey beginning to feature more prominently. Towards the back are more concentrated fruits of dried prunes and figs that bring with them some deep sweetness at its core. With time, white peaches come through, whilst those industrial qualities also take a step forward with also some ashiness.

Finish: Really elegant and gentle, some of that industrial oiliness persists with the ashiness lingering along with some brine and light honey. It leads with the industrial and evolves towards more fruitiness of white peaches and pear compote. A long finish that trails off into tones of ashiness and brine that make a comeback, fresh and almost oceanic.

My Thoughts

Now this is obviously a very well-aged blend of Scotch whiskies - but boy, does it show! It perfectly encapsulates that old style Scotch the way it used to be made, but perhaps most impressively is how it does so at this ultra-age and yet retains all of that concentration and freshness, keeping only the insane depth and those super sought after old style rustic and pure flavours that are today a thing of the past. 

Let's face it, most Scotch whiskies from yesteryears tend to fall wayside by either hollowing out and becoming too light and thin (when they're bottled decades ago but are only recently opened), or they become overly oaked (if they've sat in a cask for this long) - and this so easily averts both of that! The aromas and flavours here forward and bold, and yet the oak here is so subtle you barely feel it, keeping it evocative and elegant with those rustic notes of fresh linens, leather polish and meadowy dried florals. This is of course then weaved in with great integration the more coastal, industrial, Sherried and orchard fruit flavours that are married harmoniously to deliver great complexity with all the boldness and purity.

It almost feels like you'd unearth a really old bottle of Scotch that has somehow miraculously held on to all of its flavours in full strength and completeness, and at the same time has all of this depth of age. It really is a time capsule in so many ways, both literally and metaphorically, bringing you right back to an era of Scotch that's long been lost to time.

Kanpai!

@111hotpot