With the Blue Man

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ambassador is Jonathan Driver.

Blue Label. Nice job.

Met up with him when he hit town recently – he was around to launch the brand new Blue Label bottle. He’s a travelling man, on da road for most of the year.

Jonathan sure loves his job. His enthusiasm when talking about his job and product is real obvious.

Can u blame him?

The man enjoying his product

He introduces the new bottle, saying that “the Blue Label bottle aesthetics is definitely younger. It would fit in nicely at a nightclub, it would fit in a restaurant.”
I was a fan of the previous bottle; classic style. But the new bottle? Refreshing, trendy and classy at the same time. A beautiful piece, so it’s time I upgrade mine!

Ta daa!

Although Jonathan himself represents the Blue Label, it’s not a drink he consumes daily. “I do enjoy Tanqueray and tonic.” He also enjoys Black Label over ice. And a cup of tea!

Amazingly, he’s a qualified and certified sake brewer, after having spent some years in Japan. “Part of the training included spending a week brewing sake during winter in a temple in the mountains!” Obviously he’s a big sake fan, adding that he’s amazed by the sophistication of sake.

Jonathan showing us the origins of Scotch on his pimped map

He’s been on the job now with Johnnie Walker for 18 years. “These days, I’ve become more than a travelling showman, I also help develop the liquid, and work with the master blender.”

Envious? Good.

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New Johnnie Walker Limited Edition

Black Label has released what i feel is their coolest bottle yet!

It’s large, dark and stylish. And it comes in a awesome box. This is the  Jasper Goodall Limited Edition (only 1,000 bottles worldwide), launched at an art gallery in Bukit Bandaraya recently.

An old picture of an ad

The new bottle has a smoky, dark hue, which fades out at the bottom to reveal the whisky, on a thick base.

At 1750ml, it’s even larger than a magnum. And i especially love how Jasper, a renowned illustrator, has redesigned the legendary Striding Man into a fiery version.

Bottle-autographing in process

Jasper’s inspiration for the limited edition design came from a visit to a whisky distillery years ago when the tour guide explained that over time, a small amount of whisky evaporates and escapes every barrel, and how this process is known as the “angel’s share”.

I wouldn’t light up a cigarette in there.

On fire

The Striding Man, a Johnnie Walker icon, was first drawn by cartoonist Tom Browne on the back of a menu card in 1908.

According to Jasper,  “I wanted to try to visually capture the taste of Black Label, its smoothness, its softness and its golden warmth. Twisting, nebulous forms build together to create images from abstraction; illustrating the entire flavour spectrum.”

Good job

Johnnie Walker’s brand manager Charles Wright feels that this limited edition bottle is a rare piece of JW heritage, and would just as easily find its way into the home of the whisky connoisseur, as it would the home of an art lover.

Same contents - good ol JW Black

Or maybe eBay. Only 1,000 has been produced for the world. Considering  170 million bottles of JW are sold each year, one thousand is only …%, ..well u can do the math.

I wouldnt mess with that guy in a dark alley

I’ve got bottle number 480. You can score yourself a piece directly from Moet Hennessy Diageo (email Daphene.Dunn@mhdm.com.my), with a reasonable RRP of RM788. It definitely has gifting potential.

When ur in trouble, fire-up the Batman spotlight. But thirsty? Striding Man!

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