Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Red Rye Finish Continues Rye Cask Story

Blended Scotch whisky brand Johnnie Walker, owned by spirits giant Diageo, debuted Johnnie Walker Select Casks Rye Cask Finish last year around this time . It was, as the name implies, finished in ex-rye whiskey casks for about six months after first maturing in first fill American oak casks. The Walking Man is now returning to the experimenting of extra rye cask maturation with the debut of Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Red Rye Finish.

Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Red Rye Finish, according to those behind it, is said to be

One of the results of hundreds of ongoing experiments into flavour that take place at the brand’s home in Scotland. It includes malt and grain whiskies aged in first-fill bourbon casks and finished in rye casks. It took more than 50 experiments exploring 203 malt and grain whisky samples to hit upon Red Rye Finish and it was created using a blend of just four whiskies, including Cardhu single malt for its vibrant, fresh fruitiness, along with creamy, vanilla grain whisky from Port Dundas.

It is interesting to see how this particular release is being positioned by Diageo. A group of New York’s most influential mixologists and bartenders were recently tapped to replace more traditional American rye whiskey with this offering in a classic Manhattan cocktail. Results are said to have been positive. Those creating mixed drinks got past the idea that Scotch doesn’t belong in cocktails, and found it to ultimately end up drinking “like a real Manhattan.”

“Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Red Rye Finish is inspired by my own fascination with the bold flavours of American whiskies which first developed while I was working with bourbons and ryes in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1990s,” said Johnnie Walker master blender Jim Beveridge in a prepared statement. “When making blended Scotch whisky, we like to think ‘from the bar back’, ensuring bartenders and people at home have the perfect liquids at hand to serve neat, on the rocks, or as the foundation of a flawless Scotch-based cocktail.”

In the case of Red Rye Finish, the end result is an incredibly contemporary whisky. It is smooth, sweet and deliberately light – to my mind, the complex character of Scotch given an exciting twist inspired by the best traditional American whiskey flavors.”

Johnnie Walker Blenders’ Batch Red Rye Finish prices around €20, or about $25 USD, and will be available in more than 50 countries starting this month.