August 19 2019  |  Spirits & Tobacco

Final edition of The John Walker Last Cask goes on sale at $3,500

By Mary Jane Pittilla


The last release of The John Walker Scotch whisky will retail at US$3,500

Johnnie Walker has announced that the latest release of The John Walker Scotch whisky will be the last.

Only 330 bottles have been released worldwide as a limited edition. A portion of these will be available in travel retail from October 2019, the company said. It will retail at £2,900 (US$3,500).

The John Walker Last Cask (40%abv) is presented in a handblown Baccarat crystal decanter, with a bespoke design by Hand Engraver of Glass to Her Majesty the Queen, Philip Lawson Johnston.

Every hand-drawn image decorating the bottles is unique, with no two engravings the same.

Anna MacDonald, Marketing and Innovation Director, Diageo Global Travel, said: “This is a very special release from Johnnie Walker that we are excited to be able to share with our travel retail consumers. It has provided us with an exceptional opportunity to offer whisky connoisseurs the finest luxury collectable.”

For over a decade, The John Walker has been crafted with some of the finest and most valuable casks of whisky from Johnnie Walker reserves. These whiskies are hand-selected from nine distilleries that were in existence during the lifetime of Johnnie Walker founder John Walker (1805-1857). The whiskies are then matured with a special triple maturation technique, which includes a final marrying in a bespoke cask made from 100-year-old oak staves.

Johnnie Walker Master Blender Jim Beveridge believes that this special cask, essential to balancing the flavors of The John Walker, will soon no longer bring the balance and depth of character that is so important for this elegant whisky. He has therefore decided to withdraw it from use, meaning only one final cask of The John Walker will ever be released.

Beveridge, recognized this year with the awarding of an OBE for services to the Scotch whisky industry by Her Majesty the Queen, said: “It has been a privilege to work with such rare and valuable whiskies to create the balance and depth found in The John Walker, and this beautiful new presentation is a fittingly elegant swansong for a superb Scotch.”

Whiskies revealed for the first time

The John Walker uses six single malt whiskies and three rare grain whiskies for depth of flavor.

For the first time, Beveridge and his team have revealed the whiskies in this Scotch. First, rare grain expressions from Cambus, Port Dundas and Cameronbridge create delicate flavors, including notes of honey sweetness, subtle spice and soft fruit character.

A vatting of single malt whiskies offers deeper, more robust aromas of dried fruits, with waves of citrus fruits unfolding from the distilleries of Glen Albyn, Cardhu, Mortlach, Clynelish and Dailuaine, before culminating in the warm and peppery smokiness of Talisker, said Beveridge.

The nine whiskies are married in the bespoke The John Walker cask, allowing the flavors to mellow.

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