johnnie walker black

My colleague Jared Paul Stern already reported on the Johnnie Walker Black Centenary Edition but the company has other ways that they are celebrating 100 years of great whisky. Should you already have your bottle of the popular 12-year-old scotch, you can also pickup a complimentary, limited-edition anniversary rocks glass. Head to their website download a form, complete it and send it in to receive yours while supplies last.

The brand also held a series of unique blending events last month. Some bloggers received a package that contained several bottles of whisky, an empty bottle, a mixing flask, a glass funnel and a tasting glass to participate in the Johnnie Walker Black Label Centenary Journeyman Blending Event webcast on September 29. I got to have the in-person experience, taking part in a blending event held at the Montage Beverly Hills.

In my head I've always compared the difference between single malts and a blended scotch as the difference between an essential oil and a perfume. But while I've had the chance to dabble in blending essential oils to create a rudimentary scent (so much harder than it would seem), I hadn't, until recently had the chance to try my hand at blending whisky. But who could resist when the folks from Johnnie Walker fly in one of their master distillers, Andrew Ford, complete with swoonworthy Scottish accent and sit you down in front of an apothecary-like set of stoppered bottles?

Before the blending I talked with Ford a little about the challenges of predicting the future of whisky. He mentioned that the Johnnie Walker stocks span 7 million barrels which sounds like an awful lot. But because they Johnnie Walker Black is aged 12 years the challenges of guessing how much whisky you'll need 12 years in the future is no easy task. The whisky market has gone through a series of twists and turns in the past few years. First demand, spurred by the sudden rise in whisky drinking in Japan, India and other places, spiked to unprecedented levels. Then the global economic slowdown kicked in and pricey spirits took their licks along with other potent potables including champagne. Now what the future holds is anybody's guess. Another concern is climate change, not so much for the grains but with regards to water and the peat which grows in cooler and moist climates. The burning of peat is what gives some of the whiskies used in Johnnie Walker Black their distinctive smokiness.

In September, Johnnie Walker Black Label will release a special collector's edition bottle (right) honoring the famed Scotch's 100th anniversary.

Celebrating the brand's enduring achievements in blending, innovation, and quality, the limited edition black glass bottle contains the signature 12-year-old whisky and will retail for $50.

Black Label is blended in the same style as it has been in Scotland since 1909 when founder John Walker's grandsons, George and Alexander II, officially named their signature blend Black Label.

The collector's bottle also serves as a unique medium to tell the story of Black Label's rich history with a historic timeline featured on its back, charting the rise of the world famous Scotch.

Alexander was the one who decided to package the firm's famed whisky in square bottles to reduce the amount of breakages during shipment, and to use slanting labels to allow larger typesetting.

2009 is a special year for both Johnnie Walker Black and Selfridges who are both celebrating 100 year anniversaries. In order to mark this auspicious occasion Bloom has designed a limited edition bespoke Johnnie Walker Black bottle with a leather label in Selfridges' signature Pantone 109 yellow. Only one hundred such bottles, each individually numbered, will be available exclusively at Selfridges, perfectly priced at £100. Add this little something special to your liquor cabinet and I'm sure you can find something to toast to soon.