Went to the Johnnie Walker visitor experience at Princes Street, Edinburgh, as part of my friend’s 30th birthday. It’s an hour and a half tour all about the history of Johnnie Walker whisky, how they make their whisky, and some tasting of said whisky.
The tour part was fun, the presentation and tour guide were excellent. It was interesting, albeit as interesting as a tale about the rise of a corporation, undoubtedly sanitised by said corporation can be. It was interesting how they talked about the role of their distilleries in Scotland and the basic methods they use to make different types of flavour.
The highlight was of course the tasting itself. I don’t drink much alcohol, nevermind whisky, so can’t really say anything enlightened about the experience. In a way, considering I am Scottish, wish I had more appreciation for Scottish whisky than I do due to how much of a cultural milestone it is.
Before you do the tour, you have to do an online questionnaire taste test, to help determine your taste in whisky. Me and 3 of my 4 friends got beige for smooth. The first taste I got was a highball cocktail of Walker Aged 18 Years, with soda water and topped with nutmeg. I thought it was alright, honestly I felt like the questionnaire got me wrong and would of put me in tropical or fruit categories.
At the end of the tour we could choose what we wanted from a menu. The guide earlier mentioned that the Princes Street shop has its own seasonal brand that it sells exclusively from the one location. So I thought I’d try that to be interesting. It was interesting, it had a nice flowery feel to it, but it also kicked like a mule because it turned to be 48% vol. Liked it, but did not like it enough to buy the £100 bottle at the gift shop.
And finally, my favourite, which was a highball cocktail of Walker Black Label, Green Tea, and topped with dehydrated banana.
Overall, a fun and good experience. I’m sure whisky lovers will appreciate it more than I could, and hey, in the future, I can imagine buying some Johnnie Walker Black Label and mixing it with soda water.
We then gawked at some of the drinks they were selling in the gift shop. 3 figures, 4 figures, a 5 figure one at £20,000! Surprised I didn’t need a credit check just to look at it.
We then went to a nearby pub, had some good food, and watch Scotland lose to Italy in the Six Nations. Good day, but exhausted. Ever since this chest infection my alcohol tolerance is far lower than it used to be.
I am not allowed to speak for one week and need to take antibiotics.
Just kinda sucks that it’s at midnight and I gotta go to bed soon.
