Johnnie Walker Debuts Whiskies Imagining Cities 200 Years Into The Future
By Mikelle Leow, 11 Aug 2022
Johnnie Walker toasted to its 200th anniversary two years ago. Now that the birthday high has worn off, it’s looking far into the future in anticipation of the next 200 years.
The whisky maker is bottling up its optimism with the new Blue Label Cities of the Future 2220 series, where it jumps two centuries forward to project utopian visions of world cities. To illustrate these cityscapes, the company turned to multidisciplinary digital artist Luke Halls.
The selection portrays futuristic interpretations of 10 destinations: Bangkok; Berlin; Hainan; London; Mexico City; Seoul; Singapore; Sydney; and Taipei.
If you counted, yes, there are only nine cities. The final utopia is, of course, the planet Mars, AKA Earth 2.0.
Johnnie Walker: Cities of the Futureâ
— Malts.com (@MaltsCom) August 9, 2022
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Mars explores the theme of geoengineered cities and reimagines humanity as a multi-planetary civilisation with bustling colonies on the red planet. â
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Scan the bottle to be swept into a virtual hyperloop experience of the 2220 visions. pic.twitter.com/a93OxWOKRa
The London edition, for instance, foresees the metropolis being powered by wind energy. Hovering above its abundant reflective, geometric skyscrapers along the River Thames are aerial trains and buses.
The spirits themselves are liquefied forecasts of how people of the future may enjoy their whisky. The London version has a mellow, rounded nose with dry smokiness and sweet raisin undertones; along with a flavor of dried fruits, citrusy smoke; honey; spice; and vanilla. The experience ends with a finish of velvety chocolate.
The bottles arrive with a QR code to help drinkers time travel into the 23rd century.
[via The Spirits Business and Whiskey Raiders, images via Malts.com (Diageo)]