Saturday, November 19, 2011

Is johnnie walker king George v edition meant to be drunk or displayed?

johnnie walker king george v edition is it ment to be drunk|||Both, display the box and the bottle and draw a dram once in a while for special occasions.





I have a bottle of Highland Park 25 year that I display and drink in exactly the same way. Each dram from that bottle has a story about why we drank it.





Wow, good history of Johnny Walker. Blends, no matter how premium, are really made for the export market. Scots drink single malts; the vast majorities of blends are drunk in Japan. But they are meant to be drunk.





I'll keep my Highland Park Bottle once it's empty on display, because it will be full of the special memories we filled it with... always good to have a whisky for that purpose.|||Johnnie Walker








History of Johnnie Walker








Originally known as Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky, the Johnnie Walker brand is a legacy left by John 鈥楯ohnnie鈥?Walker after he started to sell whisky in his grocer鈥檚 shop in Ayrshire, Scotland. The brand became popular, but after Walker's death in 1857 it was his son Alexander Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II who were largely responsible for establishing the scotch as a popular brand. Under John Walker, whisky sales represented eight percent of the firm鈥檚 income; by the time Alexander was ready to pass on the company to his own sons, that figure had increased to between 90 and 95 percent.











Prior to 1860 it was illegal to sell blended (malt and grain mixed together) whisky. During that time John Walker sold a number of whiskys 鈥?notably his own Walker鈥檚 Kilmarnock. In 1865 John鈥檚 son Alexander produced their first blend, Walker鈥檚 Old Highland.











Alexander Walker first introduced the iconic square bottle in 1870. The other identifying characteristic of the bottle is the label, which is applied at an angle of 24 degrees.











From 1906鈥?909 John鈥檚 grandsons George and Alexander II expanded the line and introduced the colour names. In 1908, when James Stevenson was the Managing Director, there was a re-branding of sorts. The whisky was renamed from Walker's Kilmarnock Whiskies to Johnnie Walker Whisky. In addition, the slogan, "Born 1820 鈥?Still going Strong!" was created, along with the Striding Man, a figure used in their advertisements for around fifty years.











They dropped Johnnie Walker White during World War I. In 1932, Alexander II added Johnnie Walker Swing to the line.











Johnnie Walker continues to be blended in Kilmarnock, with a large plant just north of the town's railway station. The historic bonded warehouses and company offices (now local authority) can still be seen in Strand Street and John Finnie Street.











Blends








For most of its history Johnnie Walker only offered a few blends. In recent years there have been several special and limited bottlings.











Standard blends








Red %26amp; Cola 鈥?a premix of Red Label and cola, sold in cans and beer-bottle like bottles.








Red Label 鈥?a blend of around 35 grain and malt whiskies. It is intended for making mixed drinks. 80 proof. 40% ABV.








Black Label 鈥?a blend of about 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years. According to William Manchester this was the favorite Scotch of Winston Churchill. 80 proof. 40% ABV.








Johnnie Walker Swing 鈥?supplied in a distinctive bottle whose irregular bottom allows it to rock back and forth. It was Alexander II鈥檚 last blend: it features a high proportion of Speyside malts, complemented by malts from the northern Highlands and Islay, and is "almost as sweet as a bourbon."








Green Label 鈥?a vatted malt that is a blend of about 15 individual single malts, the signature malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila 鈥?Aged 15 years. 86 proof. 43% ABV. Previously sold under the name 'Pure Malt'.








Gold Label 鈥?a blend of over 15 single malts, including the very rare Clynelish malt. It was derived from Alexander II's blending notes for a whisky to commemorate Johnnie Walker's centenary. His original efforts were thwarted by a shortage of these malts following World War I. Gold Label is commonly bottled at 15 or 18 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV.








Blue Label 鈥?Johnnie Walker's premium blend. Every bottle is serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. There is no age declaration for Blue Label although its information booklet states that some of the blends used are "up to 60 years old". 80 proof.








Special/limited bottlings








"Johnnie Walker Black Label Anniversary Edition" 1908鈥?008


Millennium Edition 鈥?a collectors edition of 12 year old Black Label was released in limited amounts in the year 2000.


Deco 鈥?a very limited number of 350 ml bottles were produced in beautiful Art Deco-designed bottles, hence the name of this blend.


Premier 鈥?a blend aimed specifically at the Japanese market.


Swing Superior 鈥?a limited edition variety based on the Swing blend, marked by its distinctive golden label. 86.8 proof.


1939 Swing


Celebrity


Johnnie Walker 1820


Liquer Whisky


21 year old 鈥?a rare aged variation of Gold Label.


Quest 鈥?a very special blend, rarer than Blue Label.


Honour 鈥?one of the most rare and most expensive blends of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky.


Excelsior 鈥?a very rare double matured Scotch whisky, distilled in 1947, bottled in 1997.


Old Harmony 鈥?a rare blend marketed at the Japanese market. Very expensive.


15 year old Kilmarnock 400 Whisky 鈥?an extremely rare Gold Label blend bottled to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of burgh status to Kilmarnock. Released in 1992 in very limited amounts.


150 years Anniversary 1820鈥?970 鈥?the second most expensive of Johnnie Walker whiskies.


Blue Label 200th Anniversary 鈥?2005 saw Johnnie Walker's

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