The bright green bottle, on the label of which the J&B brand is indicated in large red letters, is known to all lovers of strong drinks in the world – scotch is sold in 75 countries. The J&B blend is the second most popular in the US after Johnnie Walker and is known in Germany, Sweden and Denmark.
Historical reference. The abbreviation means the name of the alcohol company Justerini and Brooks, founded in 1861 by Alfred Brooks after he acquired Justerini & Johnson from the almost bankrupt George Johnson.
But it all started with the arrival in London of the Italian Giacomo Giusterini in 1759. According to legend, he went not at all to satisfy entrepreneurial ambitions, but at the behest of his heart, falling in love with the opera singer Margaret Bellino. After a painful break with her, Giacomo did not go to Italy, but bought a small alcohol shop, in which he created a distillation apparatus according to the drawing of his uncle and experimented with spirits and tinctures. In 1770, a successful Scottish entrepreneur, George Johnson, came into the store and offered to join forces and create a company for the production of alcoholic beverages.
This is how Justerini & Johnson was born, producing quality alcohol for the London elite for six decades. True, at the end of the 1831th century, Giacomo nevertheless left for his homeland, transferring the rights to the company to Johnson. In XNUMX, the enterprising owner of a chain of elite alcohol stores, Alfred Brooks, bought the company together.
He was one of the first to buy shares in Scottish distilleries at the end of the XNUMXth century, and supported the idea of creating new drinks by mixing grain and malt whiskey. Blends at that time were most readily bought in the States, Brooks quickly established a trade by opening a small store in New York. But then Prohibition broke out and trade had to be closed, although whiskey was still supplied illegally, albeit in small batches.
And when the law was repealed, in 1933 Justerini & Brooks released J & B Rare, which eventually became the company’s most popular drink. In 1963, sales of J&B Rare in the United States exceeded one million bottles, and all European countries signed contracts for the supply of this blend in the 80s of the last century.
The company itself, when the process of monopolizing the alcohol market began at the end of the last century, changed hands for a long time, and today it belongs to the alcohol giant Diageo.
Features
- Brand blends consist of forty or more types of malt and grain whiskeys.
- All spirits that are used in J&B blends are produced at Speyside distilleries, which explains the light aroma and floral-fruity flavors.
- The blend is based on Knockando single malt scotch, which is no longer found in any blend.
- Despite the abundance of distilleries throughout Europe, the company creates blends and bottles J&B only in Scotland.
J&B range
- J&B Rare (40%). A golden-amber Scotch aged four years in bourbon barrels. Fresh and slightly harsh aroma with notes of citrus fruits, spring greens, apples, honey and peaches. The taste is harmonious, sweetish, with hints of malt, vanilla and honey. A short warming aftertaste with a barely noticeable aftertaste of dried fruit. Experts recommend J&B Rare as a digestif – pure or with ice, and as an aperitif – with ice, soda or, in American style, with cola.
- J&B Reserve (40%). Bright amber blend fifteen years old in oak barrels from American whiskey. The aroma is salty, which is found only in island whiskeys, and smoky, with pronounced notes of tobacco, vanilla and cinnamon. Harmonious taste is rich with hints of fruit, heather honey, spices. Short aftertaste with smoky undertones. Bartenders recommend the drink as a digestif – pure or with pieces of ice, and as an aperitif – with ice or soda.
