Inside the eight-story building on Princess Street, visitors create drinks to suit their tastes and personalize the bottles.
Imagine a person drinking whiskey. It is very likely that an image has formed in his mind of an older man, wearing a suit and holding a low glass with a dose of no more than two fingers. If it’s a tough guy, the drink is pure, without a single ice cube. Well then. The pourpose of Johnnie Walker the most popular whiskey brand in the world, is to put an end to this character associated with the spirit.
The company celebrated the 200th anniversary of its existence with the inauguration, in September 2021, of a real temple dedicated to whiskey in a historic eight-story building in way of the princess the main shopping street Edinburgh . The result of a £ 150 million investment (the largest ever made in Scottish whiskey tourism), the space called Johnnie Walker Princes Street it is at the same time a shop, an attraction, a tasting center and a bar. But whatever experience the visitor chooses, the message that whiskey is a drink for all palates is well present.
At my graduation, someone offered me a glass of whiskey with coconut water. I took it and was surprised. Okay, huh? But after that episode, she had never drank whiskey again in his life. before entering the Johnnie Walker Princess Street , I hid this secret deep in my being because I figured Scots – and people of any other nationality, for that matter – would find mixing whiskey with coconut water sacrilegious. And even more to think that it was delicious. To my surprise, half an hour later, I was there, feeling great, preaching the word of whiskey with coconut water to all the people who appeared next to me.
Fresh, fruity, smoky, creamy, spicy or tropical?
For those who, like me, understand little or nothing about whiskey, Johnnie Walker has prepared an immersive experience that combines a guided tour and tasting, Journey of taste (£ 28 per person, 90 minutes, book in advance via website). The starting point is choosing which type of flavor you like best: fresh (refreshing), fruity (fruity), smoky (smoked), creamy (creamy), spicy (with spices) or tropical . I just got stuck on that first question. Luckily there were tablets scattered around a round table where you could answer a test, like Capricho’s, which identified your favorite flavor through a series of questions about what you like to eat and drink. mine gave fruity , which didn’t surprise me too much considering the enthusiasm for whiskey and coconut water years ago. Subsequently, each visitor received a bracelet of the color corresponding to his result, and mine, candy pink, seemed to me almost a certificate of childish taste.
I later found that the color of the bracelet would determine my first taste. I was asked to take a glass with a baby pink base, put about three ice cubes in it, then put it in a machine that automatically recognized color and poured soda water mixed with a splash of Black Label. Then I “seasoned” the drink with a slice of dehydrated orange and the whiskey-based drink that the experts of the house recommend to those who have the taste fruity like mine, which, contrary to what I initially thought, has nothing childish about it.
In this first stage, the whiskey is automatically blended with sparkling water, which they call highball cocktail . But there is a second tasting just before the end of the tour where you can try all six combinations with a shot of pure whiskey, an ice cube and the respective garnish. These are called traditional cocktails . That’s how I discovered it, while having taste fruity, I also liked the taste very much. creamy , which takes 18-year-old Johnnie Walker and a sprig of wheat – even without sparkling water or coconut water to soften the distinctive flavor of the distillate. The other combinations are Green Label with rose petal ( fresh ), Double Black with dried tomatoes ( smoky ), Red Label with Bay Leaf ( spicy ) and Gold Label with candied pineapple ( tropical ). In case you are wondering, it is not possible to taste the exclusive Blue Label.
The theory behind these harmonies, the stages of the whiskey making process and the history of the Johnnie Walker brand are explained along the tour, where a guide guides visitors through modern halls with screens and projections. But don’t expect to see oak barrels or a bottling in front of your eyes, as the drink isn’t distilled on site. Another important caveat is that, for now, the tours are only available in English, and because there are many moments of interaction, those who don’t speak the language miss out on much of the experience. I can say that the goal of the Journey of taste is to show a more versatile side of whiskey, which can be mixed with ice, carbonated water and, as I wanted to share with my colleagues in the group, coconut water. Nobody had ever heard of the latter.
whiskey? Only if you are a cowboy!
There is a whole scientific explanation for the fact that water releases the different aromatic facets of whiskey. But we are not naive. By proposing that whiskey be consumed in less orthodox ways, Johnnie Walker aims to reach an audience that goes far beyond the aristocratic man who prints his logo. Just look at the brand’s Instagram to understand that there is an entire marketing strategy rebranding happening, with many images showing colorful drinks, clubs full of young people and women with glasses. It is as the slogan itself preaches: the important thing is keep walking that is, keep walking and adjusting to changes in the world.
But of course the whole idea of whiskey and sparkling water sends shivers down the spine of the more modest, so to speak. For those who already understand more about the subject and know how to appreciate the distillate in its purest form, the Johnnie Walker Princess Street developed three other experiments. THE Whiskey explorers (£ 35 per person, 45 minutes, book in advance via the website) is a specially curated tasting of whiskeys from different parts of Scotland, each aged for a minimum of 12 years. That includes single malt of Islay, Highlands and Speyside, plus a blend rare that it is only available there.
Even more specific, the Adventure Story (£ 50 per person, 90 minutes, book ahead via website) lets you scour Johnnie Walker’s oldest archives and artifacts with a historian. In this case, there is no tasting, but you are greeted with one of the highball cocktail that best suits your tastes. The latest and most exclusive is the Cellar of the whiskey producer (£ 95 per person, 90 minutes, to be booked in advance via the website): It all takes place in an underground cellar, where one of Johnnie Walker’s masters takes shots of whiskey straight from the barrel for tasting and creates a blend on the moment, for the taste of the participants.
best killed or tim-tim, in Scottish
It is also possible to try drinks and pure doses in the two bars that occupy the top floor of the Johnnie Walker Princess Street . or 820 focuses on cocktails and has a menu with traditional Scottish cuisine, despite its big difference being the terrace overlooking the edinburgh castle . already on Bothy of the explorers it is quite simply the coolest bar I have ever been to in my life, geared towards serving a selection of the best whiskeys from around the country, including hundreds that are not Johnnie Walker and some that are no longer produced and are in their latest bottles.
On the ground floor, the shop reaffirms the idea of customization. In addition to choosing from the 150 types of whiskey in the brand’s collection, visitors can select the bottle model in which they want to carry the drink. What’s more: you can engrave the glass with your initials or have a label printed with your name, for example. However, in an effort to associate whiskey with a drink for all, Johnnie Walker still faces one obstacle: prices. A bottle of Black Label cost 35 pounds. There is coconut water to make the bottle surrender!
Source: Terra
Benjamin Smith is a fashion journalist and author at Gossipify, known for his coverage of the latest fashion trends and industry insights. He writes about clothing, shoes, accessories, and runway shows, providing in-depth analysis and unique perspectives. He’s respected for his ability to spot emerging designers and trends, and for providing practical fashion advice to readers.
