Cover Jeremy Lindley, the Global Design Director of Diageo at the launch of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra – the world’s lightest 70cl Scotch whisky glass bottle. (Image: Johnnie Walker)
Jeremy Lindley, the Global Design Director of Diageo at the launch of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra – the world’s lightest 70cl Scotch whisky glass bottle. (Image: Johnnie Walker)
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Jeremy Lindley, the Global Design Director of Diageo on shifting the paradigm of luxury with Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra
With only 888 bottles manufactured, Johnnie Walker unveils their latest venture into the world of luxury whisky through the realm of packaging, with the weight—or the lack of—being the main luxury element.
Five years in the making, this 70cl bottle stands at 180g without the closure, and 118g lighter than its predecessor, nabbing a recognition from Guinness World Records for the lightest glass bottle of its volume upon release.
This revolutionary bottle is multifunctional and multifaceted in its impact, sending ripples through not only the world of packaging and design, but the world of luxury. In an interview with Jeremy Lindley, the Global Design Director of Diageo, we see the roots of the idea, and how less can sometimes equal more.
In case you missed it: Johnnie Walker unveils Vault, an epoch for luxury blended Scotch whisky
Above The world's lightest whisky bottle, at just 180g – roughly the weight of an iPhone – without the closure, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra showcases what luxury lightweight, lower-carbon bottles of the future could look like. (Image: Johnnie Walker)
The world's lightest whisky bottle, at just 180g – roughly the weight of an iPhone – without the closure, Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra showcases what luxury lightweight, lower-carbon bottles of the future could look like. (Image: Johnnie Walker)
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This ultra light bottle is not the first attempt of a sustainable bottle for the alcohol giant, nor is it the first time for the Johnnie Walker line itself. Previous renditions of sustainable bottles included paper bottles for their Black Label that proved difficult in recycling properly due to the plastic lining inside the bottle.
The decision to move to glass might be a fairly obvious one considering their statistics. “Packaging is 30% of Diageo’s total carbon footprint. Among that, the vast majority is glass.” Lindley states. The option to stay within glass also has other benefits, including the inertness of the material, which is useful for precious liquids, and the fact that it is infinitely recyclable.
Above Jeremy Lindley, the Global Design Director of Diageo (Image: Johnnie Walker)
Jeremy Lindley, the Global Design Director of Diageo (Image: Johnnie Walker)
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In the process of brainstorming the revamp of the bottle with sustainability at the forefront, a few fundamental questions were posed, including those revolving around luxury, and what were the necessary components to ensure a luxurious experience. Lindley recalls an ideation session with his team and discussing the future of luxury: “One of the scenarios that we kind of painted for ourselves was to say, what if in the future consumers start to reject products that are high carbon?”
To fit this within the lens of sustainable processes required a lot of research and development, and Lindley spoke with enthusiasm about the different levels of development that has led the team to the now 888 bottles available for purchase.
Above Glass bottles blown in a furnace (Image: Diageo)
Glass bottles blown in a furnace (Image: Diageo)
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Approaching this holistically, Lindley and his team looked at regenerative agriculture plots, and worked with their glass partners to aid in decarbonisation plans.
“We’re working with our glass partners, making changes to the fuel that’s used for heating, but I guess the fairly obvious way of reducing the carbon impact of glass is to reduce the amount of glass that you use.”
In order to turn sand into glass, it needs to be heated to roughly 1700 degree celsius, which, as you can imagine, requires a fair bit of energy. The idea here was simple—less glass, less carbon. Independent studies were consulted upon by the design team at Diageo, and found that every gram of glass you reduce, over half a gram of carbon will be saved.
Above The unique teardrop shape of the bottle with the distinctive shoulder of Johnnie Walker bottles (Image: Johnnie Walker)
The unique teardrop shape of the bottle with the distinctive shoulder of Johnnie Walker bottles (Image: Johnnie Walker)
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In the midst of redesigning the bottle, the team also stumbled upon a few fundamental questions, namely, within luxury, and what constitutes as luxurious. Within Johnnie Walker, the Blue Label has often been touted as a symbol of wealth and luxury, and remaining within this realm of luxury without compromising on the brand identity was crucial, and through this, the team questioned the traditional connotations of luxury, and the weight of the product being a mutually exclusive signifier.
“Typically in our category, the more expensive product comes in the heavier packaging. What if we can make luxury the lightest and most beautiful, the most delicate, and therefore most sustainable?” Lindley says.
Observations in recent emerging trends indicate that luxury is moving away from ostentatious displays of wealth, seen through ‘quiet luxury’ or ‘stealth wealth’ trends all over social media. Lindley was inspired by eyewear, bicycles, and even glassware that thrives off weightlessness. “What if we experimented with our most luxury whisky to see if we could literally switch the paradigm?" he thought. "See if we could push the boundaries, experiment, and change a little bit how people think about luxury.”
Above Johnnie Walker, a Major Partner of this year’s London Design Festival, presents Liquid Light. The installation was created in partnership with Experiential Artist Collective Marshmallow Laser Feast and brings to life the design elements of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra – the world’s lightest 70cl Scotch whisky glass bottle. Liquid Light is open to all at The Old Selfridges Hotel until Sunday 22nd September.
Johnnie Walker, a Major Partner of this year’s London Design Festival, presents Liquid Light. The installation was created in partnership with Experiential Artist Collective Marshmallow Laser Feast and brings to life the design elements of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra – the world’s lightest 70cl Scotch whisky glass bottle. Liquid Light is open to all at The Old Selfridges Hotel until Sunday 22nd September.
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Every aspect of their findings manifested itself into the bottle’s unique teardrop shape, a shape that is not only lightweight, but strong. In order to preserve some of the unique bottle branding of the Johnnie Walker bottles with the new teardrop shape, Lindley thought it was important to get the shoulder profile that is distinctive to the brand, and here is where his expertise as a designer shone, showcasing the balance of deep technical knowledge, brand, and consumer understanding.
“And that’s how we ended up with the shape that we’ve got where we’ve got some sort of squareness to it. And I really wanted to get the sort of shoulder profile that is quite distinctive to the brand."
“So then what we found was that it didn't add any weight. So the principle is smooth transitions. I was really relieved because what I thought as a designer, I'm about to do myself out of a job of going, okay, everything's going to be in a tear drop shape. They'll fire me!”
Not only innovative in the packaging, the liquid itself holds a rich story. This blend has been created by Master Blender Dr. Emma Walker, showcasing liquids from renowned distilleries including Oban, Brora, and Royal Lochnagar. Ghost whiskies linger in the blend, creating a flavour that cannot ever be replicated again, offering a precious drinking experience, each sip carrying the care and craftsmanship of her expertise.
The resulting blend boasts the essence of fresh red berries, sweet vanilla, wood spice, toffee, and a warming wood smoke.
Above The full packaging of the lightest bottle (Image: Johnnie Walker)
The full packaging of the lightest bottle (Image: Johnnie Walker)
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Although starting with a relatively small batch, Jeremy Lindley is letting luxury lead the way in the path towards sustainability. “This has kicked off the largest redesign program we’ve ever done within Diageo. Virtually every product that we own that is housed in glass is going through a redesign at the moment.”
In this excellent move towards sustainable luxury by Johnnie Walker’s design team, it poses some important questions to consumers, including the ethicalities of our purchases, and reframing our mindset of what constitutes luxury, and how we can do that without damaging our Earth further.
Keandra's expertise lies within writing deep dives into the culture and anthropology of food, sometimes with a philosophical twist. With a background in London's F&B consultancy scene, she's excited to be back in Kuala Lumpur to champion the local dining scene.
Reach her at keandra.hing@tatlerasia.com, @keandruh
