DIAGEO’S EXCLUSIVE GLOBAL TRAVEL RELEASE

Johnnie Walker Black Label: Origin Series

Diageo has released a new series of Johnnie Walker whiskies exclusively into travel retail this July, three months before rolling the range out to domestic markets. The Johnnie Walker Black Label Origin Series includes four blended whiskies, each honouring a different whisky region of Scotland.

To coincide with the release, Diageo successfully executed high-profile activations at Singapore Changi, DXB (Dubai International), Hong Kong International and Paris Charles de Gaulle airports. Diageo Global Travel will be activating a full 360-degree global campaign this October. The Johnnie Walker Black Label Origin Series will take the four corners of Scotland to the four corners of the world. Whisky fans and global travellers will experience the sights, smells and tastes of the four corners of Scotland with the immersive retail experiences that champion not only the limited-edition series, but also key historic distilleries from each of the four whisky-producing regions in Scotland.

The Johnnie Walker Black Series L-R Highland: Speyside: Lowlands: Islay

The Origin Series has been created ahead of the 200th anniversary in 2020 of what is, according to the IWSR, the world’s best-selling premium Scotch whisky. The series comprises four 12-year-old blended 42% ABV whiskies: Islay, Highlands, Lowlands and Speyside, with each blend consisting solely of whiskies from that region. All four blends were exclusively released to global travel retail in 1-litre bottles at US$46. The Speyside and Lowlands blends will then be released into certain domestic markets in October before Islay and Highland are introduced to domestic markets in early 2020.

The Islay, Highlands and Speyside Origin whiskies are all blended malts, while the Lowlands Origin expression is a blended Scotch whisky, combining malt with grain whisky from Cameronbridge.All expressions only feature whiskies from their particular regions, while the packaging highlights hero distilleries, including Caol Ila, Glenkinchie, Cardhu and Clynelish.

These four expressions are giving consumers insight into Johnnie Walker Black Label to begin to understand what is behind it. Traditionally blends are what they are and the rest of it is a secret, whereas each of these has their own story and are collectively a part of the Johnnie Walker Black Label story that opens up the conversation.

Johnnie Walker Black Label Islay Origin has been created to embody the smoky side of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Being able to use different smoky whiskies together brings a balance of maritime smoke, bonfire smoke and that sweetness in the background, with a lovely lingering smoky finish. These expression will use 100% refill casks to avoid ‘too much woodiness’.

The Johnnie Walker Black Label Highlands Origin uses European oak and sherry casks to take in the rich fruits in Johnnie Walker Black Label. Black Label talks about rich fruits, raisin, dried fruits and a touch of marmalade. That was the inspiration for this one, also using a little bit of ex-European oak and sherry casks within this blended malt to highlight and emphasise some of those rich fruit notes. There’s not just sweetness but also a spiciness on the finish. Highland malts work well with European oak; they have complexity and richness. The Highlands Origin expression presented the ‘biggest challenge’ when the brief came in, given the diversity of the region,

The Johnnie Walker Black Label Lowlands Origin is a traditional blended Scotch whisky that embraces creamy vanilla flavours, according to Harper. “In terms of flavour, we are talking about creamy vanilla and smooth flavours like toffee and caramel; there is a slight hint of fresh fruit. It is held together by a very smooth, sweet base; we have done that by pairing the malts and grains and thinking about wood types, so for this one we are talking about American oaks and ex-bourbon casks,” he commented.

The final variant in the series is the Johnnie Walker Black Label Speyside Origin; this blend is inspired by the fresh fruits of Johnnie Walker Black Label. Harper said: “When I nose Black Label, the fresh fruits of pear drop or freshly-cut apple are the first thing that jump out at me so I wanted to recreate that. When thinking about what Speyside offers to black label, it is fresh fruits, orchard fruits, freshly-cut apples, pears and the vibrant fresh fruit flavours.”