Johnnie Walker Lunar New Year Limited Edition Designs are available in selected markets globally.

The new Johnnie Walker Blue Label limited edition design for Year of the Snake is the second such design created by the visual artist, and features an interpretation of 2025’s Zodiac animal, the design for which Diageo Global Travel Retail said symbolises an auspicious ambition for constant progression and self-reinvention.

Jennifer English, Global Brand Director for Johnnie Walker, said: “James Jean’s stunning portrayal of the snake for the Johnnie Walker Blue Label Lunar New Year 2025 collection masterfully intertwines tradition and innovation. Just as Johnnie Walker embodies progress with our Keep Walking spirit, Jean has brilliantly woven a connection between heritage and forward-thinking vision.

His snake design represents transformation and resilience, reflecting both the legacy of our brand and the promise of the future. We’re excited to commemorate the Year of the Snake with this remarkable, limited edition design that is perfect for celebrating this year’s festival.”

Regarded by some as the most enigmatic of all Zodiac animals, the snake is renowned for the ability to renew itself.

Reimagined by Jean, three snakes representing three attributes of wisdom, intelligence, and intuition, are surrounded by blooming flowers, shedding their skins to embrace the next chapter in life.

The Year of the Snake symbolises the courage and agility needed to shape a promising, new future.

This limited edition design pays homage to the traditions of Lunar New Year but adds a future-facing design twist.

James Jean said: “I portrayed the snake shedding its skin to represent the idea of renewal and growth. The three snakes symbolize the attributes of wisdom, intelligence, and intuition, while also representing the past, present, and future. The snakes are constantly growing, transforming, and adapting to changing conditions.”

Born in Taipei and raised in New Jersey, James, who attended the School of Visual Arts in New York, added: “With Johnnie Walker Blue Label Lunar New Year, we wanted to create a snake that felt different, new and innovative – respect for the past but also looking into the future with optimism; in the same way that Johnnie Walker stands for progress through that incredible Keep Walking spirit.”

Renowned for his ability to work across multiple genres with an imaginative and multifaceted approach to image making, Jean fuses contemporary subjects with aesthetic techniques inspired by traditional Chinese scroll paintings, Japanese woodblock prints, and Renaissance-style portraiture.

Jean sought inspiration for his designs from the layers of  flavour found in that Johnnie Walker Blue Label, crafted by Master Blender Emma Walker with a mix of rare whiskies and some irreplaceable casks sourced from long-closed ‘ghost’ distilleries.

Jean also designed illustrations for the Lunar New Year John Walker & Sons XR 21 Year Old Limited Edition Design.

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