The first permanent whisky in the Vault line costs £1,100 and blends Brora from before its 1983 closure with Brora from its new era
Johnnie Walker launched Johnnie Walker Vault in London on Wednesday, October 14, a luxury blended Scotch that Diageo, the brand's owner, presents as the first permanent whisky in the Vault line. A bottle costs £1,100 (about US$1,500, according to The Spirits Business) and is sold only at Harrods in London, at The Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh and on the Justerini & Brooks website. The release does not mention sales in Brazil.
The blend's highlight is Brora, a Highlands distillery that closed in 1983. Master blender Emma Walker combined a highly aged Brora, put into cask before the closure, with the first use of a young Brora, from casks filled after the distillery resumed production. According to The Spirits Business, the revival came in 2021, 38 years later, and was part of a £35 million investment announced by Diageo in 2017 that also brought back Port Ellen, on Islay.
The blend also includes single malts from other closed distilleries and contemporary malts that had never gone into a blend, Diageo says. The strength is 43.8%, according to The Spirits Business.
Johnnie Walker Vault is what I've called my love letter to ScotlandEmma Walker, Johnnie Walker master blender, in a Diageo release
The name comes from an underground atelier at The Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh. At any given time it holds 500 whiskies from rare stocks and closed distilleries, chosen and rotated by Emma Walker from more than 10 million casks of Scotch available to her. The Vault platform launched in March 2025 and has already had a collection made with Olivier Rousteing, Balmain's creative director.
According to the official notes, the nose brings salted caramel, wildflowers, barley, toasted oak and bonfire smoke; the palate, vanilla, almonds, raspberry and tropical fruit, with a finish of apricot and spice.
According to Diageo, Johnnie Walker sells more than 19 million cases a year, with a range that runs from Red Label to Blue Label, by way of Black Label, Gold Label Reserve and 18 Year Old.
Sources: Diageo (October 14, 2026), The Spirits Business (October 14, 2026).
