Johnnie Walker celebrates its 200th anniversary with 4 new whiskeys limited editions

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The internationally popular brand Johnnie Walker celebrates its 200th anniversary. In 1820, two centuries ago, John Walker founded a small grocery store in Kilmarnock, Scotland, which started out with its own blended whiskeys under the name of the founder and shortly afterwards under the name John Walker & Sons.

To celebrate it with fans brand owner Diageo has unveiled four new limited-edition whiskey expressions for the autumn: Johnnie Walker Blue Label 200th Anniversary Limited Edition Design, John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight and John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label 200th Anniversary Limited Edition Design:

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It is a pure design edition. While there is blending inside the usual malt and grain whiskeys of the Highlands and Speyside as well as the island of Islay, the exterior comes up with illustrations that are described as impressive and reflect the 200-year history of John Walker & Sons and Johnnie Walker to life and pay homage to some of the major cities and countries that have been part of this inspiring story since 1820. It was bottled with an alcohol content of 40 percent, with coloring and, as far as is known, with cold filtration.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight:

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The title Johnnie Walker Blue Label Legendary Eight stands for a limited edition that is supposed to honor 200 years of blending. For this blend, malt and grain whiskeys from eight selected distilleries were married. All of the distilleries were active at the time Johnnie Walker was founded, but some are said to be shut down in the meantime and are therefore so-called “ghost” distilleries. These include Lagavulin, Blair Athol, Cambus, Brora, Port Dundas, Teaninich and Carsebridge. There is no official information regarding the maturation. Bottling was carried out with an alcohol volume of 43.6 percent. It is not clear whether there is cold filtration or staining.

John Walker & Sons Celebratory Blend:

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Is said to be the historic breakthrough in the history of John Walker & Sons, the international launch of Old Highland Whiskey in the 1860s. In addition, the blend, described as rich and complex, is said to reflect the flavors that would have been heard in the Walker family's former grocery store. Malt and grain whiskeys were selected from selected distilleries that were active in 1860. It is not clear which ones are among them. There is also no information regarding maturation. Bottled with an alcohol content of 51 percent. The responsible company does not reveal whether there was a rather unlikely cold filtration or staining.

John Walker & Sons Bicentenary Blend:

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In this limited edition, Jim Beveridge, Master Blender for Johnnie Walker, wants to capture the flavors that he imagined could be found between the Walker family grocery aisles. Only malt and grain whiskeys that were at least 28 years old and that came from the “Ghost” distilleries Pittyvaich, Cambus and Port Ellen found their way into the blend. The maturation of the whiskeys is not revealed. Bottling was done with an unknown volume of alcohol. Both cold filtration and staining are considered unlikely - however, no clarifying information is available.

The Limited Editions are expected to reach selected markets in October to mark Johnnie Walker's 200th anniversary.