Johnnie Walker - general info -5 bottles of Johnnie Walker are consumed every second - 140 million bottles in 200 million countries every year - square bottle replaced round ones in the 1870's to make deliveries more efficient.
Johnnie Walker began his blending with teas he sold in his grocery shop. In 1820, he blended his first whisky. Alexander Walker took over for his father
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Red Label - best selling scotch in the world - smoke, sweet spice, and vanilla - created in 1906 as "special old highland" - renamed red label in 1909 - blend of 35 single malts and grain whiskies - {Dewars}
Black label - youngest whiskey in blend is 12 years old - smoky with a fruity sweetness - created in 1867 - originally "old Highland" (the original Walker family recipe) - blend of 40 whiskies - primary single malt is Cardhu (means black rock) also includes Talisker, Cameron Brig, Mortlach, Glendullan - Won first award ever given to a blended whiskey in 1880 - Winston Churchill's whiskey of choice - best selling deluxe scotch in the world - Alexander Walker would pay ship's captains a substantial fee to sell his scotch at distant ports of call in order to expand demand for his blended scotch - {Chivas}
The renowned Whisky Bible has this to say about black label, "with the single malt revolution, Black Label should be viewed as the yardstick others are judged by...best value for the money of any whisky in the world."
Green Label - blend of only single malts 15 years old or older - key malts are Linkwood, Talisker, Cragganmore, and Caol Ila - fresh, smoky, and smooth - {single malts}
Gold Label - blend of single malts and grain whiskies aged at least 18 years - creamy honeyed spice - best served 'frozen' to enjoy the flavor changes as it warms in your mouth with semi-sweet chocolate or chocolate desserts - is 'touched by gold' because the natural water source used in the Gold Label runs across actual gold veins. {Champagne and 18 year old blends}
Blue Label - age is proprietary secret - oldest whiskies in the blend are over 100 years old - blended from the rarest whiskies in the world (one out of every 2 million cases of scotch produced is good enough to go into Johnnie Walker Blue) - exquisitely smooth and smokey {Chivas Royal Salute and fine Cognacs}
Swing - created in the classic era of ocean travel, the bottle was designed to sit on the back shelf of oceanliner's bars and rock with the motion of the ship.