Booze Reviews For Youse To Peruse: Johnnie Walker's Ultra-Rare "Masters Of Flavour"

A fun whisky to drink, no matter the setting. (Photo by me)

Earlier this summer, as I’ve mentioned before and will no doubt mention again, I was in upstate New York with my daughter on the set of her big screen debut, Theater Camp, due to debut in early 2023. Since she was in sixth grade and the academic year hadn’t quite finished yet, she was obligated to be in school, or what passed for it, for a few hours every day. “School” generally involved her sitting in a makeshift classroom while a liaison who was in contact with her real school back in NYC made sure she did all her homework and took any required tests and quizzes, and basically make sure she did something vaguely school-like. Rather than hang out with the other stage parents, I usually sat with my daughter and tried to get some of my own work done. And since tasting spirits is a large and not insignificant part of my work, I always made sure to throw a few samples, selected totally at random from a pile I’d brought up from Manhattan, in my backpack before we headed from the hotel to the set.

Which is how I wound up sampling a $25,000 whisky in the middle of the morning in a classroom in upstate New York. I’d forgotten to bring a proper tasting glass, so I drank it out of a wineglass, but confirmed my tasting notes with a Glencairn later on. Here’s the review I wrote at the time, which was intended for a larger round-up that I never got around to writing. Waste not want not!

I tend to think of blended Scotch whiskies as a more affordable alternative to pricey single malts, but a few brands are shooting holes in that theory, the best-known of which is Johnnie Walker. Starting with the release of Blue Label three decades ago, JW has been going bigger and rarer and pricier with super-rare, extravagantly packaged limited editions that made good use of parent company Diageo’s stocks of “ghost” whiskies from now-shuttered distilleries. Walker’s “Masters” triumvirate of whiskies was among their swankiest. In late 2021, the series concluded, along with the conclusion of longtime master blender Jim Beveridge’s career at JW. Johnnie Walker Masters Of Flavour, a blend of whiskies aged at least 48 years, is a pretty impressive sendoff.

The blend boasts hooch from the late lamented Brora, Port Dundas, Glyn Alyn and Glenury Royal distilleries, as well as the still-active Cameronbridge, Dalwhinnie, and Blair Athol. Bottled at 41.8% ABV, the 288 bottles available (or whatever’s left at this late date) are retailing for a cool £20,000 each, or $25,000 or so Stateside. What it tastes like seems almost beside the point — deciding whether to spend that much money on a bottle of whisky hardly seems contingent on the flavor, even if the name of the damn thing is called Masters Of Flavour. But if you’re curious… the nose is saline and a little briny, with slight grassiness and notes of seaweed and light smoke. On the palate, rich baked apple and zingy cinnamon come on first, with light pepper and oak bringing up the rear. The finish is long, oaky, and buttery — it’s one of the most buttery whiskies I’ve ever tasted, in fact. As a testament to the talents of Mr. Beveridge, it’s an absolutely worthy dram. As a bargain… well, there are plenty of other fine Johnnie Walker expressions to choose from at non-bankrupting prices.