Johnnie Walker launches first travel retail store at T2, Mumbai

If you were expecting a traditional bagpipe serenade to mark the opening of Johnnie Walker's first travel retail store in the departures section of the T2 Terminal of the Mumbai International airport, you've underestimated our airport's security requirements. The bagpipes will follow later in a documentary of Johnnie Walker's rich history, starring Robert Carlyle known for his role as Mr Gold in the popular television series Once Upon a Time. Fairytales aside, the first House of Walker in India may be the smallest yet and may lack the lounge facilities available in some of its other locations, but the 75-square-metre store retains its experiential and educative ambience. The walls of the elegantly understated semi-circular space tell stories and specialist brand ambassadors are expected to take visitors on “a sensorial journey to touch, taste and smell the rare elements that make up Johnnie Walker”. Don't be too surprised if you find advertisements in Indian languages here; apparently, India has quite a history with Johnnie Walker, and was the largest consumer of Johnnie Walker exports back in 1924.

Brazil may be the biggest Johnnie Walker consumer at present, but India's first House of Walker—launched by Diageo Global Travel in conjunction with Mumbai Duty Free (a joint venture between DFS and Flemingo) and Mumbai International Airport Limited—is hoping to tap into India's growing affluence and draw the attention of the 33 million or so (expected to grow to 50 million by 2020) passengers that journey through this space annually, according to Doug Bagley, Managing Director, Diageo Global. As regards the government's moves to turn Kerala into a dry state, the brand thinks it is wise to adopt a wait and watch approach. “We'll follow the rules of course, but going by past experience, prohibition never works,” says Abanti Sankaranarayanan, Managing Director, Diageo India Pvt. Ltd.   

Starting December 2014, the exclusive editions at this store will include The Johnnie Walker House Art Collection–Mumbai Edition (US$390) in a graceful white porcelain bottle, with artwork that traces Johnnie Walker's journey from the little Scottish village of Kilmarnock to Bombay in 1883, and contains around 48% alcohol. The there will be the Art Deco Era as well as the Victorian Era John Walker & Sons Master Blender Collections in Baccarat crystal bottles that retail for $4,950 each; while the youngest whiskey in these bottles is around 30 years old, they also contain whiskeys that could be up to 60 years old; and of course the rather popular Commemorative 1956 Edition ($3579).  You'll notice that the labels on the special editions are missing the 24 degree slant, that allows for larger text and branding on the typical Johnnie Walker bottles. Of course the distinctive square bottle introduced in 1860 to minimize breakage transcends collections. We're told you can pre-order by phone (24x7) once you have your tickets in hand or even whilst browsing before your departure and pick up your order on the way back into the country.

Formerly a gin drinker, Doug, tells us how he developed a taste for whiskey when he started to manage Johnnie Walker about five years ago. His favourite by far is the “Blue Label from the Johnnie Walker and Son's Collection with its mellow, rounded feel and dry smokiness, in which you can sometimes pick up flavours of rose, metals, chocolate and tobacco”. He classifies India's whiskey consumption as primarily “premium to super premium” and believes that the “appreciation of quality, the openness to experiment and desire of exclusivity” makes elite and aspiring Indians an excellent market for Johnnie Walker. While 90% of whiskey purchases in India are made by men, Abanti tells us that there has been a 30% increase in women consumers over the last few years.

“Though peoples tastes have changed and matured, the process of making whiskey hasn't changed in the last 200 years,” Doug tells us. So a 1920 Johnnie Walker Gold Label would taste exactly the same today, as it did in 1920. And that's all due to the super-specialised nose of the master blender, who passes his knowledge down to his apprentices; the apprentices will take an average of 10 years to become experts themselves, just like the master blender did. Just like secret family recipes this is a trade that tends to be passed down from father to son, so “there is no formula”, or so we are told. It's just the master blender and his nose. The whiskey business is starting to smell a lot like the perfumery industry now.    

The brand has grown from the traditional black label to the red label and innovated right through a green label and a gold label, all the way to the most elite of them all —the blue label. “Each blue label whiskey blends the contents of 10 different casks and only one in 10,000 casks are considered good enough for a blue label. If you do the math right, this means that the master blender is sniffing at about1,00,000 casks to get the flavour just right,” points out brand ambassador and mixologist Zbigniew Zapert.

Global ambassador Jonathan Driver tells us that Indian cuisine, characterized by the extensive use of fragrant herbs and aromatic spices, is similar to the language of whiskey making and the reason why Scotch whiskies go well with Indian food. “However, the many different regional styles of cuisine make generalisations difficult,” he clarifies.

Johnnie Walker, diluted with ice and a little soda have worked brilliantly together well-spiced dishes he has had across India.. He says, “the best way to go about pairing Scotch Whisky with Indian food is to experiment. “I’ve had wonderful meat and vegetable samosas that have been delicately spiced; the whiskey picks up the flavour and amplifies it. I’ve also had spiced daal, which combines beautifully with Scotch Whisky.”
He goes on to talk about how in charred and cooked meats, the smokiness of the whiskey and the grill allow for the sweetness of the Scotch to emerge, specially with turmeric and the other spices in the marinade.

“It is important to make sure that none of the whiskies are too woody, too long in cask; this can give the whiskey a tannin character that some Single Malt drinkers like, but which is not so good with food, especially with chillies and spice,” he warns.