Johnnie Walker is a Scottish whisky brand now owned by Diageo, originating from the Scottish town of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was initially founded by grocer John Walker and has become the best-selling blended Scotch whisky brand in the world, sold in almost every country. John Walker, born on July 25, 1805, started a grocery store as well as a wine and spirits shop in Kilmarnock as a teenager in 1820.
The Excise Act of 1823 relaxed the strict laws on whisky distillation and significantly reduced the high taxes on distilling and selling whisky. By 1825, Walker was selling various spirits, including rum, brandy, gin, and whisky, and soon focused primarily on the whisky market.
Since blending grain and malt whisky was still prohibited at that time, Walker sold both blended malt whisky and grain whisky. Without having his own brand, he sold his whiskies as "made-to-order," blended according to the customers' preferences. It was only years later that he began using his name on the labels and sold a blended malt as Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky. After John Walker's death in 1857, the brand became popular, and it was particularly his son Alexander "Alec" Walker and his grandson Alexander Walker II who played a central role in establishing the whisky as a preferred brand.
The Spirits Act of 1860 legalized the blending of grain and malt whisky, ushering in the modern era of blended Scotch whisky. Blended Scotch whisky, which was lighter and sweeter, was more accessible and could be better marketed to a broader audience. Some of the most popular bottlings of Johnnie Walker are Johnnie Walker Red Label, Johnnie Walker Black Label, Johnnie Walker Green Label, Johnnie Walker Gold Label Reserve, and Johnnie Walker Blue Label. These bottlings are known for their high quality and distinctive flavor profile, achieved through the careful selection and blending of various whiskies.
