Johnnie Walker John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend 28 Year Old Blended Scotch Whisky 750ml

John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend is the crown of Johnnie Walker's 200th anniversary celebrations of 2020, a 28 year old blended Scotch created to mark two centuries since John Walker opened his grocery business in Kilmarnock in 1820. Bottled at 46% ABV, it is one of four commemorative releases issued for the bicentenary, and by some distance the oldest and most opulent of the set. It stands as a once-in-a-generation statement from the world's largest reserves of aged Scotch whisky.

The blend looks backward in the most literal way possible. It was inspired by the list of flavors recorded in an original inventory from John Walker's own store, the aromatics, teas and dried fruits that surrounded the young grocer as he learned to blend. Every whisky in the bottle matured for at least 28 years, including ghost stocks from the long-closed distilleries of Port Ellen, Pittyvaich and Cambus, three names that anchor the blend in irretrievable history. The blend was created by Master Blender Dr Jim Beveridge and his blending team in his final years with the house.

That century-spanning brief produces a whisky of real gravity. The nose opens with burning heather, toffee and nuts, shaded by cigar smoke, leather and raisins. The palate is smooth and warming, moving through orange, brown sugar and barley sugar into dark toffee, vanilla pod and cocoa, with the old Islay smoke of Port Ellen threading quietly underneath. The finish is long, gently drying and softly sweet.

Presented as a John Walker & Sons release, the house's most formal signature, the Bicentenary Blend belongs on the top shelf of any serious Scotch collection. It asks to be served neat, in good crystal, on occasions that deserve marking. Anniversary editions come and go, but a 28 year old blend built on three ghost distilleries is the kind of bottling that only a bicentenary could justify. Its deep amber pour and unhurried finish reward patience, so give the glass a quarter hour before the first sip.

• Size: 750ml
• Proof: 92 (46% ABV)
• Age: 28 Years
• Origin: Scotland
• Distillery: John Walker & Sons blending house (Diageo) - drawn from multiple Scottish distilleries
• Style: Blended Scotch Whisky
• Series/Edition: 200th Anniversary (2020) - Bicentenary Blend
• Ghost Distilleries: Port Ellen, Pittyvaich, Cambus
• Tasting Notes: Burning heather, toffee, cigar smoke and raisins; orange, brown sugar, dark toffee, vanilla pod and cocoa