Johnnie Walker’s Blenders’ Batch Red Rye Finish was an experimental new small batch whisky that was launched in some markets around the world in 2016, but never stepped unto our shores. Thankfully the second offering from the highly-anticipated series, the Blenders’ Batch Bourbon Cask & Rye Finish, is now available here in Singapore.

Johnnie Walker’s Blenders’ Batch series is essentially the whisky brand’s range of small-batch, experimental whiskies that challenge the brand’s own traditions. You can look at it as a conceptual playground of sorts where master blender Dr Jim Beveridge and his team can have some fun conjuring up blends that don’t fit into the usual Striding Man’s mould. The first of that range to hit commercially was the Red Rye Finish, with blended whisky that’s finished in casks that previously held American rye whiskey.

The Blenders’ Batch Bourbon Cask & Rye Finish follows a similar pattern, taking some 200 whisky profiles from its vast stocks – single malts and grain whisky from five distilleries such as Dufftown and the closed Port Dundas – that’s been initially matured in first-fill bourbon casks, and then recasked and finished for up to six months in casks that previously held rye whiskey like its older sibling.

The result is a whisky that’s ripe with aromas of caramel, floral honey, candied apple and sweet maple; it offers a palate that’s bursting with ripe orchard fruit laced with nutmeg, and a finish that’s dry with lightly prickling spicy white pepper.

“At Diageo, we are committed to breakthrough innovation and experiments, which is at the heart of our growth strategy,” says Rajesh Joshi, Marketing Director, Moet Hennessy Diageo. “The Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch series showcase the range of miscellany and character of the liquid, enabling consumers to rediscover the world of Scotch.”

The next one in the Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch series is said to be the Triple Grain American Oak.

The limited edition Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Bourbon Cask & Rye Finish sells at a recommended retail price of $120 (1L, 40% ABV), and is available at good speakeasy bars, specialist retail outlets and on selected e-commerce sites in Singapore. Singapore has received a total allocation of 600 bottles for this whisky.

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