It’s easy to love Cebu for its rich culture, fascinating heritage and hospitable people. There are so many ways as well when it comes to honoring the Queen City. For couple Charlton and Catherine Seniedo of Sugbo Wine Online Liquor Store, they chose to honor “The Creative Capital of the Philippines” by launching the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Cebu Limited Edition Bottle, in collaboration with Johnnie Walker.
Charlton and Catherine, who are also art lovers, expressed that they have been dreaming of a Johnnie Walker Blue Cebu Bespoke Bottle ever since they first encountered the bespoke bottle during their 2019 travels to Scotland and Osaka. Both consider this project “a dream masterpiece,” and said that it was their love for their business in distributing Johnnie Walker Blue Label for over a decade, their love for art, and their love for Cebu that inspired the creation of the unique bottle.
Crafted with creativity and insight, the bespoke limited edition bottle showcases recognizable elements that are uniquely and truly Cebuano—the prominent Sinulog Festival, a queen patterned after Miss Universe Philippines 2021 Beatrice Luigi Gomez, Cebu’s sweet yellow mangoes, the CCLEX bridge, the butanding (Cebu’s whale shark), and tourist spots Magellan’s Cross and Lapu-Lapu Shrine.
Two years ago, the Seniedos had been dreaming already of what they wanted the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Cebu Edition bespoke bottle to look like, after their first encounter with a Johnnie Walker Blue Label Scotland Bespoke bottle during their trip to Edinburgh in 2019.
It was design firm Simmer Studios that brought their vision to life, and fast forward to 2021, sometime in December, Sugbo Wine Online Liquor Store and Johnnie Walker launched the “dream masterpiece.” Only 400 bottles of Johnnie Walker Blue Label Cebu Limited Edition Bottle were made available for distribution.
“The Cebu edition bottle is truly a perfect mix of the local cultures of Cebu and Scotland in one limited edition bottle design,” shared the Seniedos.
When asked how they collaborated with the world-renowned brand with a “striding man” logo, the couple said: “Charlton Trade and Enterprise has been a wholesaler partner of Diageo Philippines in the Visayas for 10 years already. Last August 2021, they offered this collaboration to us.”
Charlton Trade and Enterprise is the company operating Sugbo Wine Online Liquor Store, which is owned by Charlton and Catherine.
To mark this milestone project, an intimate celebration was held at the Business Lounge of Radisson Blu Cebu on Dec. 16, 2021. The formal and private event was attended by VIP guests. Enhanced safety protocols for Covid-19 were put in place.
The first 100 bottles were also distributed during the event. Also gracing the event was Diageo Philippines Reserve brand ambassador Christian Earl Asiddao, who did an intimate mentoring session on how to better appreciate the depth and rarity of Johnnie Walker Blue Label despite already being a very popular brand.
True-blue Johnnie Walker fans and liquor collectors across the globe are also avid fans of the whiskey brand’s bespoke bottles.
“Countries like Japan, Taiwan and the US boast their own JW Blue limited-edition bottles. We want to complement the remarkable liquid of Johnnie Walker Blue Label by creating a beautiful artwork which Cebuanos will truly remember and talk about,” shared the couple.