JOHNNIE WALKER VAULT X OLIVIER ROUSTEING PRESENT ‘THE COUTURE BLEND’ – A SIGNATURE OF THEIR BOLD CREATIVE COLLABORATION
Today marks the second launch from Johnnie Walker Vault and Olivier Rousteing – The Couture Blend – a homage to personal evolution, fearless artistry and creative tension.
Crafted in the Johnnie Walker Vault, a creative ‘atelier’ hidden deep beneath Princes Street in Edinburgh, The Couture Blend follows the success of Couture Expression, the first release under the Johnnie Walker Vault luxury platform.
Launched earlier this year as a showcase of blending artistry, Johnnie Walker Vault unites bespoke blends, luxurious experiences and collaborations with cultural icons under one visionary banner.
The Couture Blend is a limited-edition luxury Scotch whisky with experimentation and progress at its heart. Imagined by Rousteing as the centrepiece of his collection with Johnnie Walker Vault, it is a liquid manifesto of style, balance and spirit.
Pushing the boundaries of what a luxury Scotch can be, its profile showcases experimental modern whiskies alongside vintage and ghost whiskies from long-closed distilleries. Rousteing’s architectural bottle design also merges tradition with reinvention – bringing his radically modern couture aesthetic to redefine the codes of luxury Scotch.
The whisky launches at a significant moment for Rousteing, coinciding with his 40th birthday – a milestone he describes as “entering a new chapter with wisdom, freedom and serenity.” To honour this, Dr. Emma Walker included several whiskies of at least 40 years old, layering them with experimental and rare whiskies to create a unique tension of flavour and style.
In crafting the blend, Dr. Walker selected just 10 whiskies from the Johnnie Walker Vault – a liquid library of 500 rare whiskies curated from 10 million casks of Scotch. She chose ghost whiskies from closed distilleries such as Port Dundas and Caledonian to tell a story of tradition and rarity, layering them with trailblazing whiskies from the 80s and 90s, including Benrinnes, Cragganmore and Cameronbridge. Contemporary expressions from the last two decades, such as Cardhu, Roseisle and Teaninich, brought experimentation in process and finishes.
“I was inspired by Olivier’s story of progress over the last forty years, from his early self-discovery to his daring modern creativity. In this blend, I leaned into progressive and experimental whiskies from the past and present – whiskies that push boundaries just as Olivier does in couture,” said Dr Walker.
She continued: “I chose rare malts from Roseisle matured in ex-wine casks for fruity tropical flavours, a spicy chocolate malt experiment from Teannich for tonka notes, and a ghost cask from Port Ellen for a unique cloak of smoke. Blending these with Johnnie Walker’s classic flavours has resulted in something singular which I hope captures Olivier’s spirit.”
The thread of progress and creative tension continues in Rousteing’s design for The Couture Blend. He reinterpreted the proportions of luxury crystal decanters while paying homage to the square bottles iconic to Johnnie Walker since the 1800s. The result is an architectural decanter that clashes heritage with a more maximalist contemporary aesthetic.
Sculptural with prominent shoulders, the crystal bottle is topped with an oversized square stopper. This play on proportions and echoes Rousteing’s bold tailoring, whilst staying true to Johnnie Walker heritage. The decanter is dressed in gold, with select retailers also offering a personalizable collar engraved with the collector’s initials.
Rousteing said, “I wanted to create something that captures the tension between minimalism and maximalism, sparking conversation and curiosity, anchored in the present yet futuristic and timeless. I loved the paradox of pure crystal and decadent gold, finishing the decanter with the oversized stopper. For such a unique whisky, blending old with new and traditional with experimental, it felt the perfect, unexpected piece of art to treasure.”
He added, “In every couture show, there is a look designed to take the viewers’ breath away – the signature of the collection. For me, The Couture Blend is just that.”
With only 1,500 individually numbered crystal decanters produced, the recommended retail price for The Couture Blend is $2,500, available at selected luxury retailers.
Further information: https://www.johnniewalker.com/en-gb/vault
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