Johnnie Walker Blue Label, one of the rarest and most popular whiskies, represents the pinnacle of the world’s best-selling whisky brand. This luxury blend combines Scotland’s most exceptional whiskies, earning global acclaim for its quality and exclusivity.
With around 300 different Blue Label bottlings, including limited editions and variant blends, Johnnie Walker frequently collaborates with traditional and contemporary artists to create distinctive, vibrant designs. Some releases are highly exclusive, with production runs as small as 100 bottles. This multi-part series offers the ultimate guide to Blue Label expressions, spotlighting sought-after series and unique collectibles, with this section focusing on the brand’s artistic collaborations. Read part one here and part two here.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Limited Editions 2017
In 2017, Blue Label’s global limited edition was produced in collaboration with critically acclaimed British fashion designer, Tom Dixon OBE. The Blue Label: Tom Dixon release was presented in a bespoke copper presentation cage designed by Dixon, and decorated with the ‘Striding Man’ emblem evoking the pot stills used for distillation; with the release launched in conjunction with Milan Fashion Week.
As part of Johnnie Walker’s multi-decade ‘Keep Walking’ advertising campaign, two special bottlings were released for the Asian market, one illustrating the Treasures of South East Asia. The second was a cask strength edition released exclusively for China at 55.8% ABV – with only 888 bottles produced.
Exclusive bottlings were also released for Hong Kong and Nepal. The Blue Label: Hong Kong bottling featured panoramic artwork, with 2,400 bottles produced. Blue Label’s Nepal edition was inspired by Mount Everest, with the box and bottle depicting the peak in rich golden detailing – only 210 bottles were produced.
The Blue Label city and country editions were reimagined as the ‘Three Cities’ series for 2017. A series of five limited editions, the Three Cities bottlings featured three-sided artwork, with each bottle side depicting a different worldwide city.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Limited Editions 2018 & 2019
From 2018 to 2019, Johnnie Walker continued the trend of releasing Blue Label bottlings exclusively for specific markets, often partnering with local artists to create small batch limited-editions featuring vibrant art.
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The Blue Label: California Edition saw Johnnie Walker partner with artist and designer, James Weston Lewis, to create the first in a series of expressions focusing on US states, featuring artwork depicting well-known landmarks. Blue Label California edition features the Golden Gate Bridge and Hollywood sign, with only 1000 bottles produced. Similarly, the Rare Side of Scotland featured a beautiful illustration by award-winning Glasgow-based, Timorous Beasties Studios, integrating designs of Scottish flora and fauna to create a limited edition of 10,000 bottles.
Many of Blue Label’s exclusives were produced for the Asian whisky market, with examples including ‘Great Inventions’ which celebrated the development of paper-making, printing, gunpowder, and the compass, with only 3,960 bottles produced for the Taiwan market. Several bottlings were created exclusively for China, including ‘Potala Palace’ featuring panoramic artwork of the Dalai Lama’s Tibetan palace, and ‘China to the World’ showcasing illustrations of Chinese landmarks and culture across three sides (6,888 bottles).
Blue Label: Auspicious Qilin was released to celebrate Chinese New Year 2019, with the brand partnering with Chinese designer, Zeng Reeo to create the mythological dragon-like Qilin artwork. The remaining Chinese exclusives include ‘Carp & Dragon’ (3,888 bottles), and two ‘Wedding’ releases.
Across 2018 and 2019, 15 Blue Label city and country editions were released, including Peru, South Africa, and Argentina. For the Hong Kong expression, Johnnie Walker approached James Weston Lewis to illustrate the cityscape. In 2019, the Blue Label: Bangkok, Malaysia, Japan, and Middle East expressions were released as the ‘Pioneering Cities’ series. Celebrated Japanese actor, director, and illustrator, Eiji Okuda, created the design for the Japan Pioneering City release.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Limited Editions 2020 To 2022
In 2020, Johnnie Walker celebrated the 200th anniversary of John Walker’s original grocers’ shop and the brand’s beginnings by releasing Blue Label: 200th Celebration, an expression launched in recognition of the whisky’s journey from Scotland across the globe.
The bespoke ‘200’ illustration incorporated images of John Walker’s shop, the different incarnations of the ‘Striding Man’, and the cities which had become part of the Johnnie Walker story over 200 years. A globally released limited-edition, Icons 2.0 was released as part of a limited ‘Icons’ redesign of packing across the entire Johnnie Walker range in 2021.
Blue Label exclusives were released for China and Japan in 2020. China’s limited edition focused on the country’s heritage and ancient Chinese architecture, with a 3-sided depiction of The Forbidden City in Beijing. For the Japan edition, Johnnie Walker again partnered with Eiji Okuda to create a stunning 3-sided dragon illustration.
A seven-bottle series, Aquas de Vida (Water of Life) collection was released in Colombia between 2020-2021. Each vibrant colorful bottling in the series was created by a different Colombian artist.
In 2022, Johnnie Walker partnered with BlockBar, an NFT marketplace for luxury wine and spirits, in a unique collaboration to create an exclusive release for customers featuring artwork created by digital artist, VandyThePink. BlockBar’s token holders were given the opportunity to vote for the final artwork – with only 140 bottles produced.
In the Philippines several exclusive Blue Labels were released across 2022, beginning with the ‘Seven Wonders of the Philippines’ which featured artwork of the country’s landmarks – with two different designs created. The remaining Philippines expressions focused on the cities, Manila, Boracay, and Bohol, and the celebration of Christmas in the region. Between 2021-2022, limited editions consisted of Blue Label celebrating Vietnam’s Habanos Grand Opening and Year End, alongside China and Taiwan exclusives.
Johnnie Walker Blue Label Cities Of The Future 2022
In 2020, Johnnie Walker partnered with digital artist Luke Hall to create an evolution of the brand’s long-running City Edition themed bottlings. Released in 2022, Blue Label Cities of the Future was a global limited-edition series, featuring stunning illustrations by Luke Hall imagining the utopian futuristic cityscapes in 2220.
A series of 10 limited releases, Cities of the Future offers vibrant interpretations of famous cities in the 23rd century, featuring the locations, London, Hainan, Singapore, Berlin, Seoul, Taipei, Sydney, Bangkok, and Mexico City. The final bottling in the Blue Label Future Cities series imagined a Mars Colony city. A scannable NFC chip integrated into each bottle’s label allowed purchasers to further explore Hall’s illustrations and cityscapes using a smartphone.