Johnnie Walker has launched the 2017 limited-edition John Walker & Sons private collection, Mastery of Oak.The one-off blends were created by Master Blender Dr Jim Beveridge and fellow blender Aimée Gibson.

“Every whisky starts out full of the promise of its distillery character,” said Beveridge. ”Oak casks offer us an astonishing number of ways to differentiate these styles further as they mature, broadening our palette of flavours for blending.”

The blenders used American oak for the first vatting, selecting fine examples of ex-bourbon casks that had contributed rich, creamy, toffee and spice notes to Malt & Grain Scotch Whiskies as they matured. The two men then focused their attention on finding refill casks for the second stage of vatting. And for the final stage, they returned to American oak combinations using experimental casks, particularly new oak that has created an intensity of vanilla sweetness.

The John Walker & Sons collection comprises a limited release of 5,588 individually numbered decanters.