Johnnie Walker Unveils $20,000 Couture Whiskies in Collaboration With Fashion Designer Olivier Rousteing

Johnnie Walker Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker (left) with acclaimed French creative director Olivier Rousteing. (Photo: Johnnie Walker)

Johnnie Walker announced on Tuesday that French creative director Olivier Rousteing will serve as the first cultural partner for the brand’s Vault series, launching a new collection called Couture Expression. The limited-edition release features four bespoke whisky blends priced at $20,000 per decanter.

The Couture Expression collection marks the first collaboration under the Johnnie Walker Vault, a hidden creative space beneath Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh. Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker curated the blends from rare, well-aged and “ghost” casks — a term for whiskies made by distilleries that have since been shut down — highlighting some of the rarest whisky stocks available to the brand.

Each of the four expressions represents a season — spring, summer, fall and winter — inspired by Rousteing’s emotional connection to seasonal changes. The whiskies are housed in crystal decanters from French luxury house Baccarat, each featuring metallic colors symbolizing the seasons and topped with a winged stopper.

The spring blend is said to offer notes of blossom, berries and freshly cut grass, featuring 1985 Cragganmore, 1977 Caledonian and 1978 Port Ellen whiskies. Summer highlights tropical fruits from an experimental Cardhu Wine Cask Finish and a 1990 Clynelish. Fall showcases smoke, spice and tonka with influences from an experimental Teaninich chocolate malt and 1978 Port Ellen. Winter brings rich, smoky layers of Islay malts from Port Ellen and Brora, alongside baked strudel and mandarin campfire notes.

Each whisky blend carries an ABV of 45.8% and is bottled in a 700-milliliter decanter.

Beyond the Couture Expression, Johnnie Walker Vault offers private sessions where whisky enthusiasts can create a personalized blend alongside Dr. Walker.