Though Johnnie Walker’s founder and namesake may not have been able to walk the red carpet for his 200th birthday party, the company’s striding man logo covering the walls of Skylight and free-flowing cocktails more than made up for his absence. Laura Peet, director of public relations at Johnnie Walker parent company Diageo North America, and Overland Entertainment put together a boozy, multifaceted event that promoted the brand’s various colored Scotch labels in different areas in the venue decorated in corresponding motifs.
Red carpet, furniture, a bar, and a display case filled the Johnnie Walker Red Label corner, where the whiskey was combined with cranberry Smirnoff and margarita mix to create Red Label cranberry margaritas. The Black Label area featured a simple bar that served Johnnie Walker Black Label mixed with honey, unsweetened ice tea, and a lemon slice. The Gold Label bar featured a bottle of Gold Label frozen in a block of ice.
At 9 PM, a back room opened to reveal the Green Label area designed to look like a rain forest, complete with lush green plants and the striding man logo projected onto a waterfall. Green Label cocktails were served with crushed ice and orange zest.
Later Liz Phair played a quick set at 10 PM that included “Happy Birthday” and a few of her own songs. Why her? “We searched for someone who would appeal to the urban progressive mind-set of our Johnnie Walker consumer,” Peet said the next day. “Scotch is no longer the drink of just an older crowd. The new consumer is younger, hip, with a sense of the world and an appreciation for diverse cultures and lifestyles.”
Following Phair’s performance, the final area was unveiled with a dramatic flourish: a blue curtain opened to reveal musician Todd Reynolds’s 21-piece rock orchestra performing an orchestral arrangement of the Verve hit “Bittersweet Symphony.”
Centrico and Paladar chef Aaron Sanchez’s hearty menu included empanadas and tamales, which helped offset any side effects of the free-flowing whiskey drinks, and some of pastry chef Alexandra Zohn's desserts included mini red velvet cakes and vanilla tartlets. But with so many cocktails to try, getting a few guests tipsy was inevitable. Peet employed a fleet of Manhattan Rickshaw pedicabs emblazoned with the Johnnie Walker logo to take departing guests home—provided that home, or their next destination, was south of 14th Street. The company held similar, but smaller birthday parties in Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco the same evening.
—Kristen Haunss
Photos: Trevor Tondro
Related Stories
House of Dom Has Baroque Bling, Bountiful Bubbly
Dom PĂ©rignon Lights Up Mandarin Apartments
Reworking a Brand: Chivas’ Hip Tasting
Red carpet, furniture, a bar, and a display case filled the Johnnie Walker Red Label corner, where the whiskey was combined with cranberry Smirnoff and margarita mix to create Red Label cranberry margaritas. The Black Label area featured a simple bar that served Johnnie Walker Black Label mixed with honey, unsweetened ice tea, and a lemon slice. The Gold Label bar featured a bottle of Gold Label frozen in a block of ice.
At 9 PM, a back room opened to reveal the Green Label area designed to look like a rain forest, complete with lush green plants and the striding man logo projected onto a waterfall. Green Label cocktails were served with crushed ice and orange zest.
Later Liz Phair played a quick set at 10 PM that included “Happy Birthday” and a few of her own songs. Why her? “We searched for someone who would appeal to the urban progressive mind-set of our Johnnie Walker consumer,” Peet said the next day. “Scotch is no longer the drink of just an older crowd. The new consumer is younger, hip, with a sense of the world and an appreciation for diverse cultures and lifestyles.”
Following Phair’s performance, the final area was unveiled with a dramatic flourish: a blue curtain opened to reveal musician Todd Reynolds’s 21-piece rock orchestra performing an orchestral arrangement of the Verve hit “Bittersweet Symphony.”
Centrico and Paladar chef Aaron Sanchez’s hearty menu included empanadas and tamales, which helped offset any side effects of the free-flowing whiskey drinks, and some of pastry chef Alexandra Zohn's desserts included mini red velvet cakes and vanilla tartlets. But with so many cocktails to try, getting a few guests tipsy was inevitable. Peet employed a fleet of Manhattan Rickshaw pedicabs emblazoned with the Johnnie Walker logo to take departing guests home—provided that home, or their next destination, was south of 14th Street. The company held similar, but smaller birthday parties in Chicago, Miami, and San Francisco the same evening.
—Kristen Haunss
Photos: Trevor Tondro
Related Stories
House of Dom Has Baroque Bling, Bountiful Bubbly
Dom PĂ©rignon Lights Up Mandarin Apartments
Reworking a Brand: Chivas’ Hip Tasting
At Diageo North America’s 200th birthday celebration for Johnnie Walker founder John Walker, the brand’s Red Label Scotch was served in a red area with red carpet, furniture, and a bar.
Overland created a rain forest-like area with lush plants and a waterfall to represent Johnnie Walker Green Label.
Manhattan Rickshaw pedicabs emblazoned with the Johnnie Walker logo sat outside Skylight to take departing guests home.
Bentley Meeker washed the room in blue light.
