Johnnie Walker makes rarest, lechon-inspired whisky for Filipino

DIAGEO Philippines general manager Jon Good (left) and Dr. Reynaldo Odulio

Dr. Reynaldo Odulio, founder of one of the country’s biggest motorcycle distributors Wheeltek Motor Sales Corporation, is the luckiest whisky lover in the world.

Johnnie Walker just made him a Signature Blend, the only—or at least the first—in Southeast Asia. This blend, according to Jon Good, the general manager of Diageo Philippines, is now the rarest Johnnie Walker in the world, with only 50 bottles produced. All given to Odulio.

“Oh wow, so you customize blends now?” I asked Good, thinking of my many whisky-loving friends who would love (and would love to brag about) their own bespoke bottles. I also remembered banker Jaime Panganiban and his bespoke Napa Valley and Bordeaux wines, named after his granddaughters who will open the bottles when they turn 18.

“It’s by invitation only,” Good confesses. Smart move on the part of Johnnie Walker.

The brand, with its slogan “Keep Walking,” associates itself with men (and women, I hope) with stories “of personal progress.” The invitation caveat allows them to subtly screen “ambassadors” of their custom-made line—and effectively disqualify plunderers and other bad examples from putting their name on a signature blend.

Personal Progress

Odulio, though, they loved. “We met with Dr. Odulio. He had a wonderful story to tell and we had a meeting of the minds,” Good shares.

Odulio’s story began in 1974 in a garage that had only three motorcycles for sale. Today, Wheeltek Motor is one of the country’s biggest motorcycle distributors, with 200 branches nationwide.

I can think of many similar inspiring stories of personal progress. Just this week, I learned of Buenaventura Mariano, who worked as a janitor and typist in his younger years, but, through hard work, dedication, a bit of genius and a stroke of luck, later founded Securities Messages Express, a company that, for 30 years, delivered all the phone bills to Manila, Makati and Quezon City residents.

Through this company, he was able to send his eight kids to school. His youngest, Buenjim Mariano, became a London-educated sought-after neuro-opthalmologist.

Cezar Quiambao started out as a simple accountant before becoming a tax consultant in Indonesia and then becoming one of the leading private partners of the Philippine government, with such companies as Stradcom, which computerized the Land Transportation Office operations; Lares, which computerized the Land Registration Authority operations; and Sahi, which was responsible for the first successful automated elections in the Philippines in Mindanao in 2008.

Upset that the former mayor claimed to have spent government funds for an event he personally funded, Quiambao ran for mayor in the 2016 elections. He is now mayor of Bayambang, Pangasinan, hoping to instill integrity and honesty back.

My own father, Ephraim Salcedo, used to talk about how he would shine shoes and sell newspapers as a kid. He later founded Asia Credit and Investment Corp., an international financing company.

Then there’s Manny Pacquiao, Manny Villar … and the list of Filipino success stories goes on. We’re a Johnnie Walker nation overflowing with stories of personal progress.

John Walker

THE ODULIO Signature Blend

John Walker, of course, has a personal progress story of his own. He started out as a tea blender. He used the techniques of blending tea and whisky with the end goal of having a drink that, unlike single malts back in the day, was consistent in flavor. The result is the Johnnie Walker Black, the original blended whisky, which uses that very recipe that John Walker created over 150 years ago.

His children continued his legacy and distributed bottles to ship captains, who essentially became the first brand ambassadors, spreading the love for Johnnie Walker around the world.

Since the Black, there have emerged other blends: Green, Gold, Red, Blue, Double Black, Platinum, among others. But note there have only been six master blenders—with John Walker himself being the first master blender.

Jim Beveridge

Today, the master blender is Jim Beveridge, who has been with the company for over 30 years. Beveridge created the Johnnie Walker Blue. He also created the John Walker & Sons Signature Blend for Odulio.

Odulio flew to China where he met with Beveridge at the Johnnie Walker House. “The entire building is made from what we make whisky off: copper, wood, water, yeast, barley,” Good says.

Odulio and Good met Beveridge at a blending room in the Johnnie Walker House in Beijing.

Beveridge asked Odulio to tell him about his life and loves. “Talk to me about how you celebrate,” Beveridge asked.

Of course Odulio mentioned family … and lechon.

Beveridge then started blending, mixing from the over 100 whiskies in the Johnnie Walker blending room. He asked Odulio what he liked, what he didn’t like, whether it was too strong, needed more smokiness, etc.

In five hours, they had a blend.

This blend was then shipped to Scotland where it was aged. A bottle was designed, as well as a decanter that now displays Odulio’s family crest.

The John Walker & Sons Signature Blend for Odulio was launched just this week.

Signature blend

“There are very few people in the world who have had this experience,” Good shares. “Every single minute detail was personalized for (Dr. Odulio).”

“It’s amazing how Jim Beveridge created the flavors that take me back to my fondest memories with them,” Odulio says. Diageo, after all, believes in “celebrating life, everyday, everywhere.”

“I simply wanted to create something that my family would be proud of,” Odulio shares. “Something that would capture what it was like to start with only three motorcycles and a big dream, and to end up with a priceless family legacy. This Signature Blend bottle signifies that and so much more. Not only does this bottle hold our family’s favorite flavors, but the values we stand for as well as hard work and a dedication to excellence.”

The blend is described by Johnnie Walker as “a robust blend, defined by its rich complexity and exquisite balance. The sweetness is characteristic of ripe berries and dark fruits, followed by deep and fragrant smoke. Spice and wood flavors from the American and European oak casks continue to develop on the palate, before gently fading into a long and lingering finish.”

Pinnacle in the art of blending

I told Good about the greater appreciation for single malts in the past ten years, with some being so snooty about it as to say they only drink single malts, looking down on blended whisky.

“Single malts—it is a journey for people.” Good explains. “When someone likes single malts, they are really saying, ‘This is a particular flavor that I love.’ The actual reason that people like something is taste. For single malts, it’s a single linear taste from a distillery. When you get a blend, it is so much more layered because of multiple distilleries.” (Diageo also carries the single malt label Lagavulin, an Islay single malt Scotch whisky.)

There are some blends that are rarer than others. The Blue, for instance, has a very rare 50-year-old whisky as well as an 8-year-old whisky in its blend, Good explains.

I told Good that in spite of its being the favorite of our beloved Fr. Joaquin Bernas (constitutional law luminary, Inquirer op-ed columnist and our dean at the time at the Ateneo Law School), I never took a liking to Blue.

Black, though, I can appreciate. Who doesn’t like the sweet and smoky balance of the good ol’ Johnnie Walker Black?

But here’s the big reveal. The favorite Johnnie Walker of Jim Beveridge, the creator of Johnnie Walker Blue, is the Johnnie Walker Black.

Good says Odulio’s Signature Blend, which the general public will unfortunately never taste, is the “pinnacle of the art of blending.”

But the Black has to be the pinnacle, if Beveridge himself chose it as his favorite. More proof: There are over 20 million bottles of Black distributed annually.

“The people who go to single malts … they always go back to Black. I guarantee you, they are drinking Black,” Good says with a smile.

I bet it’s true!

The John Walker & Sons Signature Blend is a by-invite-only experience for individuals who pursue constant improvement and top-notch quality in all aspects of their lives. As a product of artisanal innovation and commitment to quality, the Signature Blend exhibits the true spirit of Johnnie Walker. For inquiries, e-mail Lori Linsey at [email protected].

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