The story of Johnnie Walker begins a little over 200 years ago, in 1819, when the young John Walker who, having just lost his father, decided to sell the family farm to open a grocery store in the thriving town of Kilmarnock in Scotland.
John not only had business acumen but also a whiskey genius. At the time, most grocers offered single malts but their quality was never consistent and John began blending them so that his whiskey always had the same quality with a richer, more balanced taste.
When John Walker died in 1857, his son Alexander, who also inherited his father's expertise in whiskey blending, took over the lead of the family business and will develop it considerably.
In 1867, Alexander launched Johnnie Walker's first "official" blend called "Old Highland Whisky". He then had the ingenious idea of hiring ship captain agents to take his whiskey to the four corners of the world.
Soon after, Alexander introduced the famous square bottle to optimize logistics and reduce breakage during transport, and the famous label angled at precisely 20 degrees.
In 1889, Alexander died, leaving the business to his sons, Alexander II and George, master blender and shrewd businessman respectively.
In 1909, Alexander and George decided to rename their new line of whiskeys after the colors of their respective labels. Johnnie Walker Red Label and Johnnie Walker Black Label were born.
In 1920, 100 years after the family business was founded, Johnnie Walker was sold in 120 countries and won countless medals and competitions across the globe.
In 1934, John Walker & Sons obtained from King George V the "Royal Warrant" as official supplier of whiskey to the Royal Court of England. This royal warrant still runs today.
