News

Johnnie Walker teams up with Squid Game

02 October 2024 By Louis Thomas

Ahead of the premiere of the second season of Squid Game later this year, Diageo-owned Johnnie Walker has launched a limited-edition version of its Black Label blended Scotch whisky inspired by the hit Netflix series.

As part of the collaboration, Johnnie Walker is unveiling a limited-edition bottle design of its Black Label with the labels sporting numbers from 001 to 456, the number of players featured in the South Korean series. The ‘striding man’ that has been the whisky brand’s logo/mascot for more than a century, is also sporting the green tracksuit that characters in the show wear.

“This partnership brings together two global icons, the world’s number one Scotch whisky and the worldwide TV phenomenon of Netflix’s Squid Game,” commented Josh Dean, vice president of Johnnie Walker at Diageo North America. “Our loyal fanbases are going to be thrilled by the element of discovery with our collectable, limited-edition bottle design that allows them to get close to the action.”

A 70cl bottle costs around £34. The suggested serve is in the ‘456’, which combines the spirit with a syrup made from Bori-Cha (a Korean barley tea) and honey, topped off with club soda and a twist of lemon for garnish.

The first season of Squid Game, uploaded to Netflix in September 2021, became the streaming platform’s biggest show of all time, raking in a staggering 1.65 billion hours of viewing within 28 days of its premiere. The highly-anticipated second series premieres on 26 December this year.

South Korea, the country which produced the show, is, according to figures from the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA), the 15th biggest market for the spirit by value, with the 2023 value 67% above the pre-pandemic figure. In terms of volume, 14.3m bottles (70cl in size) were exported to the country last year. Some reports suggest that it is the fastest growing whisk(e)y market in the world.