Johnnie Walker Blue Label 2016/2017 Year of Roaster Street Art Edition

Johnnie Walker’s Blue Label is inspired by Alexander Walker’s 1867 Old Highland Whisky. It was at the forefront of an era when fewer casks were available and quality cask selection was in its infancy.

Johnnie Walker has seen fit to bottle its zenith expression, the Blue Label, within a design to honor the Malaysian Chinese community. The Malaysia-only release features artwork by Lithuanian-born artist Ernest Zacharevic, lauded for his various wall art installations that dot Penang island, capturing pure Malaysian moments.

This is Zacharevic’s first brush stroke on a project in this class, the challenge being to produce a cohesive piece even when wrapped around the four sides of the angular Blue Label bottle. When lined up, a quartet of bottles displays the full picture of Zacharevic’s creation: a graffiti-style dragon held up by young dancers dances playfully in the mist with a selection of Penang landmarks in the background. A small rooster also features, a reminder of the zodiac year this bottle is dedicated to.

Only 4,000 of these bottles will be released, and of course, just 1 in 10,000 casks of whisky is fit in quality, character, and flavor to find itself part of a Blue Label blend.