Ach! Johnnie Walker! I hardly knew ye!

[niky]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-17486173

The historic link between Kilmarnock and Johnnie Walker whisky has come to an end after 192 years.

On Friday, the last Red Label was bottled at the Ayrshire plant before the final shift clocked off.

The world's largest distiller, Diageo, announced in 2009 that it was closing the Kilmarnock facility, where more than 700 people were employed.

Some staff are moving to other jobs, others have agreed to severance pay, and 82 are being made redundant.

The closure announcement sparked local protests and an angry reaction from First Minister Alex Salmond.

But he failed to persuade Diageo to keep the plant open.

Since then, nearly 200 staff have found other jobs with the company, most in Glasgow, with a few moving to the expanded bottling plant in Fife.
Flowers at the plant Workers laid flowers outside the plant in Kilmarnock

A total of 430 workers agreed to severance pay, and 82 have been forced into redundancy.

The last bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label is destined for a local exhibition of the brand's history, which goes back to the first sale of Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky in 1820.

A third of Diageo's land in the town is being given to Kilmarnock College, while it decides what to do with the rest of it.

Staff at the plant are being invited back to a party this summer, when each will be presented with a limited edition special bottle of Johnnie Walker.

Let's pay a solemn and somber tribute to the last of the Johnnies...

I'm not whiskey connosieur (obviously, since I drink Johnnie), but I've always thought of their blended whiskey as a little taste of a lot of Scotland in one swig. And now it's gone.

Thank you, Johnnie, for dozens of drunken nights. Thank you for my first, worst and only ever car crash. Thank you, sweet nectar of Kilmarnock. I'd raise a toast in your honor, but the whiskey's run dry.

 

[Keef]

This isn't the end of Johnnie Walker. They're moving it to a different facility in Glasgow.

 

[Small_Fryz]

I heard similar reports a week ago and wondered wtf was going on.

Makes sense now. They are simply moving plants, not shutting down the entire operation.

 

[Doth1s]

Well that sucks.

"And I'll see your Red Label and I'll raise you one more, and you can pour me a cab cause I just can't drink no more."

I heard similar reports a week ago and wondered wtf was going on.

Makes sense now. They are simply moving plants, not shutting down the entire operation.

That would probably have made a bigger splash in the news world.

 

[niky]

But it won't be the saaaaame...

 

[Keef]

Hopefully it's not like when your favorite restaurant rebuilds the kitchen and then all the food tastes funny for a while.

 

[Small_Fryz]

That would probably have made a bigger splash in the news world.

Exactly why I was so confused I couldn't find any information on it with Google news

 

[Doth1s]

Exactly why I was so confused I couldn't find any information on it with Google news

I was getting worried.

 

[W3H5]

I thought Red Label was the lowest quality bottle they produced? Roll on with some Black or Green Label, eh?

 

[Doth1s]

I thought Red Label was the lowest quality bottle they produced? Roll on with some Black or Green Label, eh?

I normally drink Black, but Red is cheaper. Therefore I can drink at once and not kill my bank roll.

 

[Omnis]

Diageo's single malts have done pretty well though.

 

[W3H5]

I doubt I'll lose sleep over this, I prefer not to drink these days anyway.

 

[niky]

Hopefully it's not like when your favorite restaurant rebuilds the kitchen and then all the food tastes funny for a while.

Kilmarnoch sounds 100% cooler than Glasgow. One sounds deadly, the other sounds like a cow.

Apparently Diageo had to release an announcement to clarify... as some news items weren't clear that this was merely a plant closure.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/johnnie-walker-demise-report-false/938884/

I blame the liberal media.

But now they're dumping Green Label?

http://www.shankennewsdaily.com/index.php/2012/04/06/2833/diageo-to-rejig-johnnie-walker-lineup/

That's just mean. I actually like Green Label...

 

[Omnis]

I just hope Old Pulteney doesn't go anywhere before I try it.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Wait you guys don't buy Green label all the time??? Oh dear I could have been getting a cheaper bottle all these months. I kid, I think I only had it once (any that is) I'm more of a Jack Daniels guy.

Yet I wouldn't mind trying some more to see how it really is compared to my usual.

 

[Omnis]

Jack Daniels, seriously? That's like the bud light of whisky.

 

[Keef]

Jack Daniels, seriously? That's like the bud light of whisky.

I'll admit I'm not a fan of any bourbon but its still a proper spirit.

Bud Light et. al. should never be confused with beer, however. I believe the proper term is pisswasser.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Jack Daniels, seriously? That's like the bud light of whisky.

If it were such, I wouldn't drink it. Jim Bean I drink as well, what would you suggest Omis? Oh and as far as drinks made by Diageo go, I drink Capt. Morgan even though that's rum.

 

[niky]

Is it sad that all my friends fall under the letter "J"?

Beer, schmeer. I can only stand our local San Miguel Draft, which everyone from Koreans to Americans swear by... or maybe they're being polite, to get free beer... Bud just doesn't excite the taste buds.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Is it sad that all my friends fall under the letter "J"?

Beer, schmeer. I can only stand our local San Miguel Draft, which everyone from Koreans to Americans swear by... or maybe they're being polite, to get free beer... Bud just doesn't excite the taste buds.

Bud to me is just water wishing to be a beer, it taste horrid

 

[daan]

Kilmarnoch sounds 100% cooler than Glasgow. One sounds deadly, the other sounds like a cow.

They're both toilets.

Do a youtube search for a BBC TV show called "The Scheme." (Most of it will need a language warning if you can understand it...) That was set in Kilmarnock.

Anyway, Black label is the best Johnnie Walker.

 

[Crash]

So long, the good ol' Johnnie Walker Red Label, even though I never bought and drank you.

If it were such, I wouldn't drink it. Jim Bean I drink as well, what would you suggest Omis? Oh and as far as drinks made by Diageo go, I drink Capt. Morgan even though that's rum.

I kind of agree with Omnis on this one. What kind of whiskey do you like? Bourbon? You should be drinking more micro-distillery whiskeys. I don't have have much Bourbon knowledge as I drink mostly Scotch, but I have a bottle of Woodford and Sons and it's decently priced, and I thought it's quite good.

Anyway, Black label is the best Johnnie Walker.

I thought it was the Blue Label?

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

Not much of a scotch guy, Bourbon sits well with me.

 

[Omnis]

My favorite whiskey so far is Wild Turkey Rye. But I haven't tried Rittenhouse or Sazerac as far as other ryes go. Wild Turkey's 101 bourbon is sweet and delicious and great for cooking. A little too sweet for the cocktails I like to make though-- hence why I like the rye better.

Always get a 100 or 101 proof bourbon/rye. Any lower and it's just added water during bottling.

My uncle has a bunch of single malt scotch that's pretty good but nothing I'm particularly crazy about. I'm not enough of a baller to have a nice selection of my own. I got a bottle of Ardbeg because it was just so radically different and I wanted to try it. And unless it's freaking freezing outside, I'd probably rather stick with Kentucky drink. Same for cocktails-- why use blended scotch? I'm just an American, what can I say.

Next bottle I get will probably be either an Old Pulteney or the Macallan-- something that should be good while not being a peat monster.

Jack Daniels has it uses. But those are limited to bbq sauce, etc. Jack and coke if you're into that. I'm not. I don't like Jim Beam either. Wild Turkey is so much better for just a few bucks more. I'd probably only use Jim if I were making a ton of grog for like 25 people.

 

[Robin]

I'm a big fan of Johnnie Walker, never tasted Red though, I only drink Black and Blue *puts on monocle*