History Of Johnny Walker

Diageo is a Scottish distillery that makes the Johnnie Walker brand of whiskey. The 190-year connection between the brand and Kilmarnock came to a close in 2012, as announced by Diageo in 2009, following the closure of the town's Hill Street plant.

The plant had been the largest bottling facility in the world since its establishment in 1820 in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire.The revered brand was first founded by grocer John Walker, a native of Kilmarnock, who set up shop in 1820. His son Alexander "Alec" Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II were instrumental in making the whiskey iconic. Worldwide, it sells more than 223.7 million 700 mL bottles of Scotch whiskey each year, making it the best-selling whisky in the world.

On July 25, 1805, John Walker came into this world. The family sold the land when his farmer father passed away in 1819. The £417 that was left to the trustees was put into an Italian grocery store, wine and spirits shop on Kilmarnock's High Street in Ayrshire, Scotland.

In 1820, while still a teenager, Walker oversaw the groceries, wine, and spirits division. The Excise Act of 1823 loosened stringent regulations for whiskey distillation and significantly cut the astronomically high taxes on alcohol distillation and selling. As early as 1825, Walker—a teetotaler—was peddling a variety of alcoholic beverages.He quickly shifted his focus to trading mostly in whiskey. Since it was still illegal to mix grain and malt whiskies, he offered both varieties for sale.

A blended malt he sold as Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky finally got his name on the bottle after a few years. His passing occurred in 1857.

Following Walker's passing, his son Alexander "Alec" Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II were instrumental in making the whiskey a household name. Modern blended Scotch whiskey was born with the Spirits Act of 1860, which made it permissible to mix grain whiskies with malt whiskies.

Following Walker's passing, his son Alexander "Alec" Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II were instrumental in making the whiskey a household name. Modern blended Scotch whiskey was born with the Spirits Act of 1860, which made it permissible to mix grain whiskies with malt whiskies.

A broader demographic might enjoy blended Scotch whisky because of its milder and sweeter flavor. While Edinburgh's Andrew Usher was the pioneer in blended whisky production, the Walkers were quick to follow suit.It wasn't until 1860 that Alexander Walker unveiled the now-iconic square bottle for the brand.

This resulted in fewer broken bottles and more bottles fitting into the same area. The label, another distinguishing feature of Johnnie Walker bottles, has been put at an angle of 24 degrees upwards from left to right since that year, enabling the text to be bigger and more legible.Because of this, buyers might see it from a distance as well.

He benefited greatly from the establishment of a railway in Kilmarnock, which connected the town to trade ships that sailed across the globe. The commercial savvy of Alec helped Walker's Kilmarnock attain an annual sales volume of 100,000 gallons (450,000 liters) by 1862.

Before certifying it as Old Highland Whisky in 1867, Alec made Johnnie Walker's first commercial mix in 1865 and dubbed it that.By the time Alexander was prepared to pass the business on to his own sons, whiskey sales had risen from eight percent under John Walker to ninety-five to almost all of the firm's revenue.Because of this decision, the Cardhu single malt was removed from sale and is now owned solely by the Walker family.Ardhu was renamed Johnnie Walker Red and Black Labels' main single malt in 1909, and its production formed the Old Highland Whisky's core.

Four blended whiskies were available to consumers between 1906 and 1909 thanks to the line's expansion by John's grandsons George and Alexander II: Old Highland, aged 5 years, Special Old Highland, aged 9 years, and Extra Special Old Highland, aged 12 years. The sole distinguishing feature of the white, red, and black labels on these three products was the use of the usual Johnnie Walker font. People would often make comments about them based on the color of their labels.

The firm renamed its mixes to match the popular color designations in 1909 as part of a rebranding that included the introduction of the Striding Man, a mascot that is still in use today and was designed by cartoonist Tom Browne.

At the age of 6, the Old Highland was rechristened Johnnie Walker White Label. At the age of 10, it was rechristened Johnnie Walker Red Label. At the age of 12, the Extra Special Old Highland was rechristened Johnnie Walker Black Label.

Walker saw a chance to increase the size and diversity of their brands in 1915 when they bought out the Coleburn distillery. In 1916, they did the same for Clynelish Distillery Co. and Dailuaine-Talisker Co.This made guaranteed that the distilleries of Cardhu, Coleburn, Clynelish, Talisker, and Dailuaine could consistently produce single-malt whiskey.

The majority of their production went into Johnnie Walker blends, which needed ever-increasing amounts of single malts to keep up with the company's meteoric rise in popularity.

During World War I, Johnnie Walker White was discontinued.Alexander II expanded the collection in 1932 with the addition of Johnnie Walker Swing, so called because of the bottle's peculiar form that enabled it to sway back and forth.

As of 1925, the business was a part of Distillers Company. In 1986, Guinness bought Distillers Company. In 1997, Guinness and Grand Metropolitan amalgamated to become Diageo. Blended malt Johnnie Walker Pure Malt was introduced that year; in 2004, it was renamed Johnnie Walker Green Label.

Diageo, the current owners of the brand, announced in July 2009 to shut down all activities in Kilmarnock by 2012. Protests ensued from residents, lawmakers, and even Alex Salmond, who was the first minister of Scotland at the time. Diageo moved on with the closure despite public rallies, petitions, and a large-scale march in Kilmarnock.

In March 2012, the Kilmarnock Johnnie Walker facility shut down, and the following year, the structures were pulled down.Ayrshire College's Kilmarnock campus and HALO Urban Regeneration now occupy the land.

Johnnie Walker unveiled their new eco-friendly paper bottle in July 2020 and it will be available for purchase in early 2021.Johnnie Walker introduced their first female master blender, Jane Walker, in October 2021 with the launch of their new label.