Johnnie Walker unveils world’s lightest whisky bottle

Diageo-owned blended whisky Johnnie Walker has introduced a limited edition Blue Label Ultra, encased in the lightest glass whisky bottle in the world.

Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra results from five years of experimenting in an aim to push 'the boundaries of luxury, craft and innovation'.

Claiming to be the world’s lightest 700ml Scotch whisky glass bottle, the format will be revealed at the London Design Festival on Saturday 14 September; Johnnie Walker Blue Label is a partner of the event.

The brand has also partnered with designers Marshmallow Laser Feast to create a Landmark Project installation at the Old Selfridges Hotel in Marylebone, celebrating the design elements of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra. Dr Emma Walker, master blender of Johnnie Walker, created a new Johnnie Walker Blue Label expression for the release. Ultra contains liquids from distilleries such as Oban, Brora, and Royal Lochnagar, as well as a variety of ‘ghost whiskies’ from defunct distilleries. The edition is limited to 888 bottles, which will be released for sale in 2025 in selected markets worldwide for £1,000 (US$1,312). Lightweight champion The limited edition, first-of-its-kind bottle weighs only 180g without its closure, topping the previous holder of the title by 118g.

The Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra bottle was created by adopting a test-and-learn model by hand-blowing the glass. It uses a teardrop shape, which, for the first time, means reforming the traditional Johnnie Walker square bottle.

The bottle showcases what luxury, lighter-weight, lower-carbon bottles of the future could look like. As part of the Diageo Spirit of Progress action plan, Johnnie Walker aims to reduce the weight of glass used in its packaging. This ambition aims to reduce the carbon emissions associated with packaging.

Jennifer English, global brand ambassador of Johnnie Walker, said, “Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra is a truly progressive stride forward for Johnnie Walker, Diageo and the industry. We didn’t know what we were going to be able to achieve when we set out to push the boundaries of luxury, and the result is something that many said would not be possible.

"This new, lightweight bottle is a thing of exquisite beauty; but more importantly, it demonstrates what is possible when it comes to light-weighting glass. We will continue applying what we have learned across our range, taking more progressive strides as we look to the future of Scotch.”

Technology not available at large scale – yet The technology is not yet available to launch the lightweight bottles on a large scale. However, after five years of research, the brand has been granted a UK patent and offers a royalty-free licence to the patent to anyone in the world who wishes to share the innovation.

The project's leader, Jeremy Lindley, global design director at Diageo, commented: “Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ultra was born out of an ideation session looking at the future of luxury. With other categories moving towards lightweight – such as eyewear and high-performance cycling – we questioned whether luxury spirits could follow suit.

“We took our vision to a team of expert glassmakers and, throughout a five-year test-and-learn process, slowly discovered how to create elegant, lightweight glass. The technical challenges that light-weighting presents led us to incorporate various design and production specifications that we could not have envisaged at the start of our journey, from the requirement of a teardrop shape, which we have moulded to still mimic the iconic square form of Johnnie Walker bottles, to the addition of a protective cage to allow for a round base, and the hand-making and filling of each individual bottle to avoid damages in production.

“Rather than hold this new knowledge close to our chest, we’re excited to offer a royalty-free licence to the world for our granted UK patent. We hope that our discoveries will have a positive impact within the wider industry and help discover new possibilities for lighter, lower-carbon packaging alternatives.”

Earlier this year, Johnnie Walker introduced its first generative AI-powered personalised bottle experience at the brand home in Edinburgh. In March 2024, Diageo announced it welcomed more than one million people to its visitor experiences in Scotland for the first time in 2023. This month, Diageo workers accepted a 10.3% pay rise.