We traveled to the home of Johnnie Walker to discover what it takes to make a mark in culture.

To make a longstanding mark on culture is no small feat. Johnnie Walker is one of few brands that has stood the test of time, and theirs is a story of perseverance, innovation, and genius &ndash; one that&rsquo;s enabled them to become one of the most recognizable names in the world.

The story of Johnnie Walker starts in Scotland, where founder John Walker started selling his whisky over 200 years ago. What started as a side hustle to complement his mother&rsquo;s grocery shop in 1820 has grown to become one of the world&rsquo;s most well-regarded blended whiskies.&nbsp;
Johnnie Walker invited L&rsquo;Officiel Philippines to their motherland for an intimate look at the brand&rsquo;s history, and what innovations they continue to create to keep the brand a cut above the rest.
A taste of Blue
The trip&rsquo;s first stop is an introduction to Johnnie Walker Blue Label, the cr&egrave;me dela cr&egrave;me of Johnnie Walker.&nbsp;
Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a blended whisky much like Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s other offerings, but what makes it special is that it is the first Johnnie Walker whisky that&rsquo;s focused on flavor alone. It&rsquo;s a special blend that combines the product of Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s various distilleries with those from ghost distilleries, or distilleries that are no longer active. This makes Johnnie Walker Blue Label a rare gem &ndash; its flavor is so distinct that only one in 10,000 casks make it into Johnnie Walker Blue Label.&nbsp;

When you first get a taste of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, it is a flavor of journey in itself: waves of vanilla and spice first touch the palette, followed by notes of caramel and hazelnuts with an undertone of dark chocolate. Then, it closes with a long, warming, and smoky finish.&nbsp;
&ldquo;They&rsquo;re all wrapped together in this traditional, sort of warm flavor and smoke, with a lovely creamy vanilla flavor with a luxurious finish that&rsquo;s smooth to the taste,&rdquo; says Emma Walker, Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s Master Blender.&nbsp;
We spoke to her at length about what makes Blue Label a cut above the rest, and the perfect environment to enjoy a glass of the famed whisky. You can read our interview with her and Johnnie Walker Global Brand Director Julie Bramham <a href="https://www.lofficielph.com/johnnie-walker/take-a-deep-dive-into-johnnie-walker-blue-label-with-master-blender-emma-walker">here</a>.

Whisky women
Walker and Bramham are two prime examples that whisky is not just a man&rsquo;s drink, and they join a whole roster of women who lead Johnnie Walker today. Even the CEO of Diageo, Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s parent company, is a woman &ndash; Debra Crew was appointed last June. But Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s history of leading women goes back even further, which brings us to the second stop of the trip: Cardhu.

Cardhu is one of Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s most important distilleries. Referred to as the Speyside home of Johnnie Walker, Cardhu was pioneered by two women, Helen Cumming and her daughter-in-law Elizabeth Cumming. They partnered with what was then John Walker &amp; Sons in 1893, making Cardhu&rsquo;s single malt whisky a key ingredient in Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s signature blends. Today, Cardhu still produces its famed liquid, and the site itself offers tours that share its history along with various tasting experiences.&nbsp;

A trip down memory lane
While the history of Cardhu is an integral part of what makes Johnnie Walker today, there is so much more to discover from the brand&rsquo;s more recent past. That&rsquo;s what we discovered in the next leg of our Scotland tour, within the halls of the comprehensive Diageo Archive.&nbsp;

Managed by Christine McCafferty, the Diageo Archive has anything and everything related to Johnnie Walker and its sister brands like Guinness, Tanqueray, and Baileys, among others. Spanning over 5,000 square meters, the archive is divided into three main attractions.&nbsp;
First up is the Founder&rsquo;s Room, which displays historic documents and photos all pertaining to the founders of Diageo&rsquo;s brands &ndash; the oldest one related to John Walker is an inventory from his mother&rsquo;s shop, preserved from 1819.&nbsp;

Next is The Vault, which houses advertising materials from Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s long history. Here, one can truly appreciate how Johnnie Walker has made an impact in our culture, with materials from film, TV, and iconic events &ndash; there is even a book of newspaper clippings with adverts from the Philippines dating back to 1950.
And finally, the third highlight in the Diageo Archive is its Liquid Library, which has over 5,000 bottles of Diageo&rsquo;s spirits on display. The Liquid Library shows how Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s signature square-shaped bottles have evolved over time, and see how innovation and genius has played a role in the development of unique bottles such as Johnnie Walker Swing.
Johnnie with a twist
But Johnnie Walker wouldn&rsquo;t be what it is today if it rested on its laurels. The company continues to innovate, and it is through collaboration that they are able to achieve the level of success they enjoy. Now, part of their focus is to bring more people into the world of whisky, which brings us to the final stop of our Scotland journey: Johnnie Walker Princes Street.

Located in Edinburgh's iconic high street of the same name, Johnnie Walker Princes Street is an experience for both whisky and non-whisky drinkers. It offers several tasting tours that cater to all kinds of guests, from in-depth whisky programs to innovative cocktail experiences.
Princes Street also features two rooftop bars: 1820 and the Explorer&rsquo;s Bothy. The 1820 bar imagines what kind of food a young John Walker would serve today, paired with delicious cocktails that showcase how versatile whisky can be. The Explorer&rsquo;s Bothy, on the other hand, has 150 bottles of whisky to choose from. It is also the stage for Princes Street&rsquo;s Stir tour, which features intricate tasting plates made by Michelin-starred chefs.

There is a lot to explore and experience at Johnnie Walker Princes Street, and it is the perfect showcase of what Johnnie Walker has to offer today. With over 800 flavor combinations of whisky, an individual could come back every day for more than two years and not have the same experience twice. And it&rsquo;s working &ndash; Bramham notes that half of Princes Street&rsquo;s visitors are women, and more than half are not regular whisky drinkers.
Back home, Johnnie Walker is also making strides in making whisky more accessible through events and experiences just like Princes Street, some of which L&rsquo;Officiel Philippines was proud to host. In the two installments of <a href="https://www.lofficielph.com/categories/johnnie-walker">Conversations in Deep Blue</a>, ideas on innovation and creativity were explored and celebrated in true Johnnie Walker fashion.
All this is just a taste of Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s continually expanding world of whisky, and they&rsquo;re not about to stop anytime soon &ndash; there is much to look forward to, especially at home in the Philippines. By any indication, what we experienced in Scotland is not just a testament to Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s indelible mark on culture, but of the even bigger stories and feats we can expect from them in the future.
Johnnie Walker is available online at Diageo&rsquo;s official <a href="https://www.lazada.com.ph/shop/diageo?path=index.htm&amp;lang=en&amp;pageTypeId=1">Lazada store</a>, and in S&amp;R locations nationwide. For more information, visit Johnnie Walker&rsquo;s <a href="https://www.johnniewalker.com/en-ph/">website</a>.
Drink responsibly. Visit the <a href="https://www.drinkiq.com/">DrinkIQ.com</a> site to learn more about alcohol facts.

Get a Taste of Scotland Through the Iconic Flavors of Johnnie Walker

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