🥃 Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker is a brand of blended Scotch whisky owned by the British company Diageo. Its story begins in 1820 in Kilmarnock, in western Scotland, where John Walker opened a grocery shop and eventually began selling his own whisky blends. Today the brand is sold in more than 180 countries.

The shop on Sandbed Street sold groceries, wine and spirits. According to Diageo, the founder's son Alexander Walker introduced the slanted label, and in 1908 his son commissioned the artist Tom Browne to draw the “Striding Man”, which became the brand's emblem. The names Red Label and Black Label appeared in the early twentieth century; sources give 1909 or 1910. In 1893 the Walkers bought the Cardhu distillery in Speyside to have their own malt whisky for blends.

Under the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009, blended Scotch whisky is a mixture of one or more single malt whiskies and one or more single grain whiskies. Every component is distilled in Scotland and aged there for at least three years in oak casks, and the whisky is at least 40% ABV in the bottle. If an age is stated, it is the age of the youngest whisky in the blend.

The core range: Red Label with no age statement, Black Label (12 years), Double Black, Green Label, a blended malt without grain whisky, Gold Label Reserve, an 18-year-old and Blue Label. In 2021 the brand's visitor centre, Johnnie Walker Princes Street, opened in Edinburgh.

Why it matters to you. The label colour is a product name, not an official category: only the number on the bottle guarantees age, and it refers to the youngest whisky. Green Label is a different type of Scotch, without grain whisky, so do not confuse it with the blends. Look for the words “Blended Scotch Whisky” or “Blended Malt Scotch Whisky” on the label. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe level of alcohol consumption.