Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker’s first female master blender, on creating a Scotch for India

Johnnie Walker Blue Festive Blend with the festive packaging designed by couturier Rahul Mishra What if your Scotch tasted like the best parts of an Indian festival? Think layers of spice balanced with cinnamon sweetness and that unmistakable whiff of smoke of the tandoor.When Emma Walker, the first female master blender at Johnnie Walker, set out to create the Johnnie Walker Blue Festive Blend she began with a shopping list of sweets and savoury Indian dishes recommended by the whisky-making team at United Spirits India. Then, the festive packaging was created in collaboration with Indian couturier Rahul Mishra. This is the designer’s second commission for label design with Johnnie Walker Blue Label. In 2025, he designed a special Diwali edition label with iconography from Indian culture. This year the Festive Blend has a minimal but celebratory design language on the label, created for the occasion.This is the first time in its 200-year spirits history that the brand has created a festive edition as a celebratory tribute to India. The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Festive Blend was unveiled at at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai recently with the illumination on the Gateway of India. According to the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), an international drinks trade body, India was the world’s largest export market for Scotch whisky by volume in 2025, with exports equivalent to more than 220 million bottles. The SWA report also predicts that India may overtake the US as the world’s largest market for Scotch whisky, as rising incomes and lower import duties make the push for premium spirits.Savoury notes Dr. Emma Walker, the first female master blender at Johnnie Walker | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT “As the world’s largest whisky market by volume, India is playing an increasingly important role in shaping the future of the category,” says Ruchira Jaitly, chief marketing officer, Diageo India, makers of Johnnie Walker. The luxury whisky market in India is buoyed by a growing network of ultra-high-net-worth and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs), well-travelled and discerning millennials, and a new generation that wants to ‘drink better, not more’.The festive blend launch, which coincides with the beginning of the Indian wedding season, is deliberately set at the crossroads where a Scotch taps into the sweet- spicy- smoky Indian palate. Emma says she tapped into the 11-million-cask reserve that is used to create the rarest blends to create it.“In this blend is Port Dundas, one of our ghost distilleries (it does not actively make spirits anymore) that produces whisky with a certain sweetness, smoothness and delicate fruit notes in the background; it is used in the Blue Label as well. Then there’s Clynelish (single malt Scotch whisky), a part of Blue Label, with a waxy texture and tropical fruit notes. For the spice, we used Blair Athol (a single malt used in blends, with its 12-year-old noted for its rich buttery, fruity profile), which gave us clove. Talisker, known for its spice and smoke leaves you with notes of white pepper, chilli and a dry aromatic smokiness,” she says.Emma hopes India embraces the spirit as much as she shares her love of Indian food and culture. “We wanted to think about flavours and things that are evocative about India for us in Scotland. If you live in Scotland, Indian food is one of your favourite types of food. Mine are dal and saag.” The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Festive Blend was unveiled in Mumbai this October | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Vinayak Singh, co-founder Mumbai-based The Dram Club, a whisky and spirits appreciation club with 16,000 members, gives us insight on how the festive blend stands up against Johnnie Walker Blue. “On the palate, layers of cardamom, clove and cinnamon come together with the smooth, rich sweetness Blue Label is known for, plus a touch of chocolate, before it finishes on that familiar gentle smoke. It’s also bottled slightly stronger, at 40.8% against the usual 40%, and that gives the spice a bit more lift,” he says, adding, “The nose here opens with cardamom, saffron and rose petals. It is almost like walking into a mithai shop during Diwali.”The 700 ml bottle will be available across India, UK, US and Global Duty-Free channels. It has varying prices across markets Bengaluru: ₹ 17,000, Delhi: ₹19,000 and Mumbai: ₹30,000. Published - November 12, 2026 09:00 am IST