Down a level from the heart of Princes Street, in a cooled cellar most visitors never see, you can draw a dram of Roseisle straight from the cask. Not a bottle. The cask. And Roseisle, Diageo’s newest distillery, is a name most whisky drinkers have never tasted as a single malt at all.
That is the Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting called Luxury cask draw tasting, and it is the experience that justifies the trip for anyone who takes whisky seriously. This is the spoke review. For the full overview of the building and the other tours, see our Johnnie Walker Experience Edinburgh full guide.
What is the Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting?
The Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting is the premium tasting at Johnnie Walker Princes Street. It costs £150 per person, runs around 90 minutes, and takes place in the Whisky Makers Cellar, a private room kept cool and quiet beneath the building so the casks can mature properly on site.
An expert host guides you through five single-cask, cask-strength drams drawn from Diageo casks that live in the cellar, then a sixth pour: a bespoke blend built on the day from those same whiskies, with the recipe decided by a vote among the people in the room. That last part matters. The blend you make is tied to your specific session and cannot be repeated, which is about as close to uncopyable as a tasting gets.
The point of difference is the liquid. These are casks you cannot taste anywhere else, not in a shop, not online, and in several cases not even at the distillery that made them. Drawing whisky directly from the cask is normally a distillery-only privilege. Here it sits in the middle of Edinburgh.
One thing to set straight before you book: the casks rotate. The five below are the line-up we tasted, from the cellar’s November 2024 selection. Your visit will almost certainly feature different casks, which is part of the appeal. Treat these notes as a worked example of the calibre, not a fixed menu.
The cellar and the format
The room itself does a lot of the work. It is calm, low-lit and temperature-controlled, and after the theatre of the main floors it feels like being let in on something. The host is a genuine whisky specialist rather than a script-reader, and the session runs as a conversation. You taste each dram at cask strength, add water if you want to open it up, and talk through what the cask has done to the spirit.
For context on cask strength: these are bottled straight from the cask with no dilution, which is why the ABVs below run into the high fifties. A few drops of water is not cheating, it is how you read a cask-strength whisky properly, and the cellar’s own notes for each dram with water are worth chasing.
The five casks we tasted (November 2024 line-up)
| Distillery | Region and type | Age or fill | Cask | ABV | Signature note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cameronbridge | Lowland single grain | 17 years | Ex-bourbon hogshead | 53.1% | Creamy vanilla and toffee |
| Port Dundas | Lowland single grain (silent) | Filled 2009 | Ex-bourbon ASB | 53.9% | Butterscotch and chilli heat |
| Clynelish | Highland single malt | Filled 2011 | Ex-bourbon ASB | 51.9% | Tropical fruit and cut mango |
| Roseisle | Speyside single malt | Filled 2011 | Ex-bourbon hogshead | 59.5% | Baked apple and vanilla fudge |
| Mortlach | Speyside single malt | Finishing cask, autumn 2023 | Ex-wine (Sangiovese) | 57.8% | Dried fruit, raisin, cocoa |
Cameronbridge 17 year old cask strength
Nose: creamy vanilla, toffee, oak, soft spice, berry fruits
Palate: creamy vanilla, sweet and rounded, nutmeg
With water:woody, spicy, vanilla ABV: 53.1% | Cask: ex-bourbon hogshead | Region: Lowland single grain
Cameronbridge is Diageo’s huge Fife grain distillery, the backbone of a lot of blended Scotch. At 17 years in American oak the cask has given up real flavour, and the light grain spirit carries the vanilla and toffee cleanly rather than fighting it. A gentle, rounded opener.
Port Dundas cask strength
Nose: butterscotch, cream soda, oak, white pepper, a lift of chilli
Palate: woody, spicy, chilli, cinnamon
With water:creamy, woody, spicy ABV: 53.9% | Cask: ex-bourbon ASB (American Standard Barrel, around 200 litres)
Region:Lowland single grain, silent
This is the one to slow down on. Port Dundas in Glasgow is a silent distillery, meaning it is closed and no longer producing, so every cask is finite. There was a single-cask Port Dundas in the Explorers’ Bothy Bar when Princes Street opened in 2021 that people loved, and this pour is a chance to meet a closed grain distillery before the stocks are gone. The chilli and cream soda lift is what sets it apart from the Cameronbridge.
Clynelish cask strength
Nose: tropical fruit, cut mango, apple skins, boiled sweets
Palate: ripe tropical fruit, tart apple, gentle acidity, a creamy note with a slightly dry finish
With water: ripe fruit, a touch of cream ABV: 51.9% | Cask: ex-bourbon ASB | Region:Highland single malt
Clynelish, on the Highland coast at Brora, is famous among blenders for a waxy, tropical character, and this cask leans into it. The ex-bourbon wood stays out of the way and lets the distillery lead, so you get mango and apple rather than oak. The most immediately charming dram of the five.
Roseisle cask strength
Nose: ripe fruit, baked apple, vanilla fudge, treacle, crushed peach, a hint of clove
Palate: fresh red apple, gentle spice, vanilla ice cream With water: orchard fruit, vanilla ABV: 59.5% | Cask: ex-bourbon hogshead |
Region: Speyside single malt
The rarity of the night. Roseisle is Diageo’s newest Scotch distillery, first making spirit in spring 2009, built largely to supply blends, and almost never seen as a single malt. The cellar’s own line is that this is the first time anywhere people have been able to taste Roseisle straight from the cask. At 59.5% it is the most powerful pour, and the baked-apple-and-fudge profile holds up to water well.
Mortlach cask strength
Nose: dried fruit, raisin, dark chocolate, caramel, a savoury edge, spice, a wisp of citrus
Palate: red berries, cranberry, wood spice, ginger, clove, cinnamon
With water: red fruits, cocoa, white pepper ABV: 57.8% | Cask: ex-wine cask, Sangiovese | Region: Speyside single malt
The finale, and a complete change of register. Mature Mortlach finished in an Italian Sangiovese red-wine cask, part of Diageo’s Special Releases 2024 work with Italian wine casks. The dense, meaty Mortlach distillate takes the wine influence and turns dark and spiced. After four ex-bourbon casks, the red-berry and cocoa hit lands hard.
The blend you build yourself
After the five drams comes the part you cannot get anywhere else. Working from these whiskies, the group votes on a recipe and a bespoke blend is made on the spot, tailored to the room. It is a neat piece of theatre, but it also makes the point of the whole place: blending is choice, and for one session you get to make the choices.
Is the Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting worth £150?
For the right drinker, comfortably yes. This is the most expensive of the core experiences and also the only one where the money buys whisky rather than spectacle. You are paying for cask-strength single casks you genuinely cannot taste elsewhere, a silent distillery, Diageo’s newest distillery from the cask, and a Special Releases Mortlach, all guided by someone who knows them.
Be honest with yourself about who you are, though. If you are new to whisky or want a fun first taste of the brand, this is not your tour. That is the £30 Journey of Flavour. The Cask Draw assumes you can appreciate cask strength and rare distillate, and it rewards exactly that. If you know whisky and you only do one paid tasting in the building, make it this one.
Our rating: 5 / 5
How to book and how it fits the visit
The Cask Draw Tasting is bookable through the Johnnie Walker Experience at 145 Princes Street, Edinburgh EH2 4BL. It runs around 90 minutes, costs £150, and sells out, so book ahead. Ticket holders get 10% off in the shop on the day, which is worth timing a Fill Your Own Bottle purchase around. Most people pair it with the 1820 Rooftop Bar afterwards.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting? It is the premium tasting at Johnnie Walker Princes Street in Edinburgh. In a private underground cellar, an expert guides you through five cask-strength single-cask drams drawn straight from Diageo casks, followed by a bespoke blend the group creates on the day. The casks are not available anywhere else.
How much is the Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting? It costs £150 per person and lasts around 90 minutes. That covers five cask-strength drams plus a bespoke blend made on the day, hosted by a whisky specialist in the Whisky Makers Cellar. Ticket holders also receive 10% off purchases in the Princes Street shop on the day of the tasting.
What whiskies do you taste on the Cask Draw Tasting? The casks rotate, so each visit differs. Our November 2024 session featured Cameronbridge 17 year old grain, a silent Port Dundas grain, Clynelish, Roseisle, and a Special Releases Mortlach finished in a Sangiovese wine cask. Most are cask-strength single casks you cannot taste outside the cellar.
Can you draw whisky from the cask yourself? Yes. The experience takes place in the Whisky Makers Cellar, where whisky is served straight from casks maturing on site. Drawing a dram directly from the cask is normally only possible at a working distillery, which is part of what makes the Edinburgh cellar tasting unusual for a city-centre venue.
Is the Johnnie Walker Cask Draw Tasting worth it? For serious whisky drinkers, yes. At £150 it is the priciest tour in the building, but it is the one where the value is in the liquid: rare cask-strength single casks, a silent distillery, and a closed-door cellar. Newcomers are better served by the £30 Journey of Flavour.
How is it different from the Journey of Flavour? The Journey of Flavour is a £30, 90-minute introduction with personalised cocktails and storytelling, built for everyone. The Cask Draw Tasting is a £150 seated tasting of rare cask-strength drams for experienced drinkers. One is an entry point to the brand; the other is a deep tasting for enthusiasts.
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