Ballantine’s have revealed a duo of specially packaged expressions of their Finest blend in honour of two all-time great songwriters and performers.

Elton John and John Lennon are the latest musicians to be lionised in Ballantine’s True Music Icons Collection, a range of limited edition expressions celebrating the life, work and legacy of music’s greatest icons. Rock legends Queen and AC/DC were the first to be honoured last year.

The Elton John edition draws inspiration from his iconic Dodger Stadium show in 1975, with this baseball-capped and bespectacled silhouette gracing the top of the label. John Lennon’s much-loved self portrait doodle takes centre stage on the label of his edition.

In terms of the whisky, each of these editions contains the Ballantine’s Finest blend, bottled at 40% ABV. Understandably, this might not set many whisky drinkers’ worlds on fire. Perhaps with that in mind Pernod Ricard have also crafted themed cocktails and serves utilising the blend.

The Dreamer and The NYC are twists on the whisky sour and whisky & soda respectively, inspired by Lennon’s hit ‘Imagine’ and his love of New York City.

Tiny Twister is a cranberry and whisky cocktail that’ll no doubt have you counting the headlights on the highway, while The Showman is a pineapple, soda and whisky concoction that’s refreshing enough to make sure you’re Still Standing as the night goes on.

On the surface, pairing these two musicians might seem superficial, but there’s some historic significance to the timing of the release. The launch is timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Elton John and John Lennon’s celebrated performance at Madison Square Garden.

These releases are just the latest in a long running collaboration between Ballantine’s and various musical artists. Earlier this year worked with hip hop artist RZA on a special release of their 7 year old American barrel expression - check out our previous article “Wu-Tang Dram: Ballantine's Collaborate with RZA” for more information on that release.

Both the John Lennon and Elton John editions will be available via The Whisky Exchange from Monday 23rd September.