50-year-old Scotch whisky
Johnnie Walker has released its first 50-year-old Scotch whisky called The John Walker Masters' Edition. Credit: © Diageo.

Diageo’s Johnnie Walker has released a 50-year-old Scotch whisky called The John Walker Masters’ Edition.

The new product is a triple-matured whisky that is crafted from a blend of six rare whiskies, each aged for a minimum of 50 years.

Johnnie Walker’s 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.

“That’s where our Master Blender Jim Beveridge, one of only six in the history of Johnnie Walker, and his small team of exceptional whisky-makers come into their own as masters of their craft.”

“Whiskies of this age have incredible character but it takes great skill to reveal their flavour.”

The limited-edition release features single malt whiskies taken from some of the oldest available stocks from various distilleries, including Glen Albyn, Glenury Royal and Blair Athol. It also features three-grain whiskies, which are reported to have been taken from the ghost distilleries of Caledonian (Edinburgh), Cambus (Clackmannanshire) and Port Dundas (Glasgow).

Johnnie Walker’s 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.

“About 20 years ago, Johnnie Walker blenders recognised 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.”