History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes, and it certainly feels like it has come back around as I sit across from Dr Emma Walker, the master blender of Johnnie Walker (read our full interview with Dr Walker here).
The world’s best-selling Scotch has humble origins, traced back to 1820 and a grocery store in Kilmarnock, where John Walker refined the art of blending often harsh single malt Scotch whiskies into more palatable expressions. Locals loved it, but without a signature style or brand name, he had to blend whiskies to order, tailoring each batch to customer tastes.
Today, some two centuries later, a similar scenario is playing out. Dr Walker, who has no relation to the founding father (“I’m from a Walker family, just not that Walker family”), has invited me to a subterranean room in the depths of Johnnie Walker Princes Street, Edinburgh, aptly named the Vault. This eight-story building, which now serves as the flagship home of Johnnie Walker, was once a bank, and this room was once — you guessed it — a vault.
Emma Walker talks to clients in the Vault / ©Diageo
The gold bars are long gone, but this room remains a closely guarded secret. Strictly by appointment only, it is now the ultimate blending room with 500 miniature bottles of Scotch whisky personally chosen by Dr Walker for their quality and rarity. It is in this room, and with these whiskies, that she will make a one-of-a-kind Scotch whisky attuned to my exact tastes and preferences. As master blender of Johnnie Walker, Dr Walker bears ultimate responsibility for the quality of every bottle of Blue Label, Black Label and everything in between. Johnnie Walker sells 22 million cases annually, enough to fill a wee loch. Yet here she is, putting 100% focus into every drop in what will be a single bottle.
Let’s be clear: Only poetic license ties the Vault to John Walker’s humble grocery store. In reality, it is one of the most exclusive experiences in the global spirits industry, with a starting price of £50,000 (approx $66,000) per person. That includes one bottle of your bespoke blend, which will be hand-delivered in a custom-made Baccarat crystal decanter. You’ll also get the VIP treatment throughout the journey, with a concierge team ready to curate every minute of the itinerary.
Still, the team expects most clients to stay at Scotland’s preeminent hotel, Gleneagles. They expect most will be content dining in the two-Michelin-starred Andrew Fairlie the night before and many will be delighted by a round of golf on the iconic King’s Course the next day. The private client team was eager to stress, however, that anything is possible. That includes a private tour of the Diageo Archive, a nondescript building in the middle of a business park, which just happens to be one of the most valuable collections of Scotch whisky in the world. This is where the recipe for your blend will be stored, filed away in the company’s long history. It also includes private tastings of Johnnie Walker’s most prestigious blends.
By the time clients sit down with Dr Walker in the Vault, much of the hard work will have been done. Clients receive a questionnaire 16 weeks beforehand to gauge their tastes. There are questions about favorite foods, memorable vacation destinations and even one about your favorite song. Some answers will be more useful to Dr Walker than others, but they all factor into her thinking like an algorithm. Her mind can navigate the spectrum of flavor like a wayfinder, automatically pairing certain profiles with whiskies at her disposal.
I spoke of my love for apple crumble and sticky toffee pudding, two tasting notes that were instilled into the blend with a few drops of Cardhu rum cask and two different Clynelish expressions from 1983 and 2010. The oldest whisky, a 1979 Port Ellen, provides a touch of minerality to fall in line with my love of the coast, while a Benrinnes 1991 sends me back to one of my favorite vacations in the hills of Crete, where memories of fresh heather in the air and salty foods dominate. Just a few drops of Brora 1982 add a wisp of smoke, but most important of all, it adds a prestigious name to the blend.
Once the recipe is confirmed, it’s sent to be created in tightly controlled conditions. It’ll then be left to marry before finally making its way to the client. Meanwhile, they head to Gleneagles Townhouse, where more private experiences await, all tailored to their tastes — just as John Walker would’ve wanted.
Johnnie Walker Vault
The Johnnie Walker Vault experience begins with a stay at Scotland’s finest hotel, Gleneagles. The grand hotel is set within the 850-acre Gleneagles estate in the Scottish countryside, where you’ll find lochs, tennis courts, a croquet lawn, a shooting and fishing school, stables, three championship golf courses and its own train station.
Images: ©Diageo
Dr Emma Walker begins work on your blend well before your trip. You’ll be sent a detailed questionnaire that will give insight into your preferred flavor profiles. There are questions about favorite foods, memorable vacation destinations and even one about your favorite song. Some answers will be more useful to Dr Walker than others, but they all factor into her thinking like an algorithm.
Images: ©Diageo
But that is not the end of the story. You’ll sit down with Walker in the Vault to sample your blend and make changes in real time. There are 500 whisky samples to choose from, and as you provide feedback, Walker will instinctively know which will take the flavor profile in the right direction. “Different things come up in conversation when you’re in the Vault,” Walker told Elite Traveler. “One client in the Vault mentioned his first distillery trip was to Knockando in 1985. We looked on the shelf and found some Knockando from 1985. We added that to the blend, and it changed the flavor map and made the blend even more special.”
Images: ©Diageo
When your blend is complete, the recipe will be logged in the Diageo archives, and the blend will be created in tightly controlled conditions. When ready, you’ll receive a bespoke Baccarat crystal decanter filled with your custom blend.
Images: ©Diageo
The Elite Itinerary
Each blend created in the Johnnie Walker Vault is bespoke — and so is the journey that leads to it. Johnnie Walker’s private client division works one-on-one with guests to craft tailored itineraries. We partnered with the team to design a trip that includes stays at Scotland’s finest hotels, dinners at its most acclaimed restaurants and rare whisky tastings guided by Johnnie Walker experts.
Day 1
Check in at Gleneagles for a day of leisure. Arrive to a curated selection of gifts tailored to your preferences — think Assouline books, a cashmere scarf and other considered luxuries — and enjoy spa treatments and an in-room cocktail.
Day 2
Begin the day with a round on the King’s Course, then try your hand at clay pigeon shooting. Before dinner, enjoy a private tasting of Johnnie Walker’s prestige expressions, including Blue Label, King George V and the rare Johnnie Walker 52 Year Old. Dinner follows at the two-Michelin-starred Andrew Fairlie.
Day 3
The main day begins with a visit to the Johnnie Walker archives, where your blend will be permanently recorded once it has been finalized. The archive sits in a nondescript warehouse on the outskirts of Edinburgh, but inside sits one of the most valuable collections of Scotch in the world. Here, you’ll see original ledgers from the earliest days of the Johnnie Walker brand and gain fascinating insights into its history.
Afterwards, you’ll head to Johnnie Walker Princes Street to descend into the Vault and meet Dr Emma Walker, who will guide you in crafting your bespoke creation. Finally, check into Gleneagles Townhouse for a private tasting of Diageo’s Prima & Ultima collection, featuring exceptional bottlings from Port Ellen, Brora and more. Dinner at the newly Michelin-starred Lyla, just steps from the hotel, closes the evening.
This experience, priced at £55,000 (approx $73,500) per person, can exclusively be booked by Elite Traveler readers, directly with Johnnie Walker at johnniewalker.com/en-gb/vault, quoting Elite Traveler.
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