Johnnie Walker Tasting
side by side comparison of its standard full range
limited availability to current and graduated students
please register with Kathleen
Friday January 18, 6pm to 7pm
at office
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and produced in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.
A blended whisky (or whiskey) is the product of blending different types of whiskies. It is generally the product of mixing one or more single malt whiskies (made from 100 percent malted grain such as barley or rye) together with other grain whiskies or neutral grain spirits. Scotland, Ireland, and Canada are the most common countries of origin for blends. A mix of single malts only, without grain whisky, is called a vatted malt.
Most blended whiskies do not list an age. When a blended whisky does so, each individual malt and grain whisky must be at least as old as the age listed. Two of the most widely known examples of blended whisky are Johnnie Walker and Seagram's Seven Crown, but there are many others such as Jameson, Chivas Regal, Old St Andrews, Isle of Skye, and Black & White.
Grain whisky and other 'fillers' are usually much cheaper to produce than single malts, so blends containing them are usually much cheaper to buy. Most cocktails and mixed drinks that call for whisky use blended whisky. This is primarily for cost reasons, and secondarily because the complex flavours of single malt whiskies would be overshadowed by the mixer(s). Scotch purists generally consider blended whisky to be an inferior drink to the single malt Scotch varieties.
History
Visionary Alexander Walker took his father's whisky business and built a global empire:
Every type of Johnnie Walker scotch has a different color, the purpose is to denote the different type of scotch and to position them to be used for different occasions. For example, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is rare and expensive, and so it is intended to be used for special occasions.
The Five standard blends
Red Label — a blend of around 35 grain and malt whiskies. It is intended for making mixed drinks. 80 proof, although it drinks fine on its own, being rather maltier than the other Walker colours. 40% ABV. According to William Manchester this was the favorite Scotch of Winston Churchill, who mixed it with soda.
Black Label — a blend of about 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV.
Green Label — a vatted malt that is a blend of about 15 individual single malts, the signature malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila – Aged 15 years. 86 proof. 43% ABV. Previously sold under the name 'Pure Malt'.
Gold Label — a blend of over 15 single malts. It was derived from Alexander II's blending notes for a whisky to commemorate Johnnie Walker's centenary. His original efforts were thwarted by a shortage of these malts following World War I. Gold Label is commonly bottled at 15 or 18 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV.
Blue Label — Johnnie Walker's premium blend. Every bottle is serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. There is no age declaration for Blue Label, however, the owners of the plant state that it is aged no less than 20 years. 80 proof. It is perhaps the most expensive blended Scotch on the market, fetching prices upwards of $200 a bottle.
A key feature of every bottle of Johnnie Walker scotch is the Striding Man logo. It was created in 1908 by an illustrator named Tom Browne to be a likeness of John Walker in traditional attire. In the logo, the man is walking forward, which Diageo says symbolises forward thinking and the pursuit for excellence. Diageo has created "The Striding Man Society" which is a members club for Johnnie Walker drinkers (Striding Man Society).
Another key aspect of its marketing is the slanted label. This was an advertising tool developed by Alexander Walker who thought it would help his bottles stand out on the shelf.
In 2009 the advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty created a new short film, starring Robert Carlyle and called The Man Who Walked Around the World, which outlined the history of the Johnnie Walker brand:
Source:limited availability to current and graduated students
please register with Kathleen
Friday January 18, 6pm to 7pm
at office
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch Whisky owned by Diageo and produced in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country with yearly sales of over 130 million bottles.A blended whisky (or whiskey) is the product of blending different types of whiskies. It is generally the product of mixing one or more single malt whiskies (made from 100 percent malted grain such as barley or rye) together with other grain whiskies or neutral grain spirits. Scotland, Ireland, and Canada are the most common countries of origin for blends. A mix of single malts only, without grain whisky, is called a vatted malt.
Most blended whiskies do not list an age. When a blended whisky does so, each individual malt and grain whisky must be at least as old as the age listed. Two of the most widely known examples of blended whisky are Johnnie Walker and Seagram's Seven Crown, but there are many others such as Jameson, Chivas Regal, Old St Andrews, Isle of Skye, and Black & White.
Grain whisky and other 'fillers' are usually much cheaper to produce than single malts, so blends containing them are usually much cheaper to buy. Most cocktails and mixed drinks that call for whisky use blended whisky. This is primarily for cost reasons, and secondarily because the complex flavours of single malt whiskies would be overshadowed by the mixer(s). Scotch purists generally consider blended whisky to be an inferior drink to the single malt Scotch varieties.
History
Visionary Alexander Walker took his father's whisky business and built a global empire:
Every type of Johnnie Walker scotch has a different color, the purpose is to denote the different type of scotch and to position them to be used for different occasions. For example, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is rare and expensive, and so it is intended to be used for special occasions.
The Five standard blends
Red Label — a blend of around 35 grain and malt whiskies. It is intended for making mixed drinks. 80 proof, although it drinks fine on its own, being rather maltier than the other Walker colours. 40% ABV. According to William Manchester this was the favorite Scotch of Winston Churchill, who mixed it with soda.
Black Label — a blend of about 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV.
Green Label — a vatted malt that is a blend of about 15 individual single malts, the signature malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila – Aged 15 years. 86 proof. 43% ABV. Previously sold under the name 'Pure Malt'.
Gold Label — a blend of over 15 single malts. It was derived from Alexander II's blending notes for a whisky to commemorate Johnnie Walker's centenary. His original efforts were thwarted by a shortage of these malts following World War I. Gold Label is commonly bottled at 15 or 18 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV.
Blue Label — Johnnie Walker's premium blend. Every bottle is serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. There is no age declaration for Blue Label, however, the owners of the plant state that it is aged no less than 20 years. 80 proof. It is perhaps the most expensive blended Scotch on the market, fetching prices upwards of $200 a bottle.
A key feature of every bottle of Johnnie Walker scotch is the Striding Man logo. It was created in 1908 by an illustrator named Tom Browne to be a likeness of John Walker in traditional attire. In the logo, the man is walking forward, which Diageo says symbolises forward thinking and the pursuit for excellence. Diageo has created "The Striding Man Society" which is a members club for Johnnie Walker drinkers (Striding Man Society).
Another key aspect of its marketing is the slanted label. This was an advertising tool developed by Alexander Walker who thought it would help his bottles stand out on the shelf.
In 2009 the advertising agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty created a new short film, starring Robert Carlyle and called The Man Who Walked Around the World, which outlined the history of the Johnnie Walker brand:
Johnny Walker
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