Balmain’s Creative Director Creates $20,000 Johnny Walker Whisky
French fashion designer Olivier Rousteing – the creative director of lauded fashion house, Balmain, has created a series of whiskies with the Scottish distillery, Johnny Walker.
The creative collaboration exploring the four seasons has produced four whiskies, which are priced around $20,000 each.
Rousteing worked with the brand’s master blender, Dr Emma Walker, and said it turned into “an emotional journey”. He explains: “What started as a collaboration to create one special release became a creative exploration of four seasons, just like a couture collection.
“For me, the seasons bring different energy and emotions – the feeling of rebirth in Spring, the hazy freedom of Summer, the self-reflection of Fall and the cosiness of home and family in Winter – that Emma so beautifully captured in the collection.”
The whiskies used to blend these limited editions were picked from the Johnnie Walker Vault, which contains 500 rare, aged, and ghost whiskies. These have been selected by Dr Walker from the 10 million casks of Scotch available, including from distilleries that have now closed, says trade title, The Spirits Business.
Walker says: “Olivier brought an emotional language to the blending creation, and we worked together to explore what whisky can express – technically, sensorially and artistically. Wedeliberately chose to use the same whiskies across several of the seasons, playing with proportions, textures and seasonal notes to create four distinct expressions of whiskies.”
The whiskies are being sold in square crystal decanters handcrafted by French luxury house Baccarat; and each “season” has a different design. Johnnie Walker Vault x Olivier Rousteing Couture Expression will launch globally on 26 May and there are just 25 bottles of each season available.
