Johnnie Walker Island Green Scotch Joins the Walker Stable

There is no doubt that the Johnnie Walker portfolio of Scotch whisky is ever-growing and ever-changing. A true global brand, it has variations on its bottlings for different regional markets and segments, offering whisky drinkers of all stripes a chance to try its expressions. There’s now another one to add to the mix, targeting the the travel retail sector and known as Johnnie Walker Island Green.

Set to debut this July for around $60 per 1-liter bottle, Johnnie Walker Island Green is a blended Scotch designed to capture “the distinctive style of individual mature malts from the four main whisky regions of Scotland with added prominence given to island malts.” To this end, this non-age statement whisky gives greater prominence to the “smoky, maritime nature” of the Caol Ila distillery from Islay in the mix. This is balanced out

with robust fruity Highland malts including Clynelish, lighter Lowland malts represented by Glenkinchie and the characteristically sweet and fragrant Speyside style of Cardhu.

“As whisky makers,” said Jim Beveridge, Johnnie Walker Master Blender, in a statement, “we’re passionate about flavour, and creating this exclusive travel retail variant of our blended malt whisky has given us an opportunity to showcase a rare blend of rich malts. We wanted to preserve the character of each of the malts in this whisky but at the same time create a different, more intense flavour experience for travellers.”

“We’re fortunate to have access to so many classic malt whiskies and we’ve been able to make a unique, full bodied blend,” added Stuart Morrison of the Johnnie Walker blending team, “where flavours of peat-smoke combine with a rich, fruity sweetness and the comforting warmth of pepper and spice – flavours that are characteristic of single malt but with greater depth and complexity amplified by the unique island style. It’s a flavour profile that is best explored either neat or on the rocks.”

Diageo, the parent company of the Johnnie Walker brand, believes Island Green will be a game changer in that it will be “first blended malt, travel retail exclusive” from the very popular label. With quoted research showing seven out of 10 malt shoppers drank blended Scotch before entering into malts, it is believed offerings like this one will serve as a nice entry point “for those shoppers who want to explore the category.”