Some things take time – the story of Johnnie Walker
Now owned by drinks giant Diageo, the Johnnie Walker whisky brand is the most widely distributed brand of blended whisky in the world.
A brief history #
However, it wasn’t always so. The brand came about through circumstance and experimentation.
John Walker was born in 1805. His farmer father died in 1819, and the family sold the farm. Their trustees invested the £417 proceeds into an Italian warehouse, grocery, and wine and spirits shop in Kilmarnock, Scotland.
Walker managed the grocery, wine, and spirits business as a teenager from 1820. The Excise Act of 1823 relaxed strict laws on distillation of whisky and reduced, by a considerable amount, the extremely heavy taxes on the distillation and sale of whisky. By 1825, Walker, a teetotaller, was selling spirits, including rum, brandy, gin, and whisky.
Shortly after, John Walker switched to dealing mainly in whisky. Since blending of grain whiskies with malt whiskies was still banned, he sold both blended malt whiskies and grain whiskies. They were sold as made-to-order whiskies, blended to meet specific customer requirements.
Product experimentation #
Walker got to know his customers’ preferences through experimentation.
“All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better.” Ralph Waldo Emerson.
Alexander Walker, son of John Walker, inherited the business following his father’s death, in 1857.
It was John Walker’s son and grandson who were largely responsible for establishing the whisky as a favoured brand, initially helped by a change in circumstances through legislation.
The Spirits Act of 1860 legalised the blending of grain whiskies with malt whiskies and ushered in the modern era of blended Scotch whisky.
Annual sales of the brand’s products are equivalent to around 225 million 700 ml bottles.
Now some trivia #
As a piece of whisky trivia, Alexander Walker had introduced the brand’s signature square bottle in 1860. This meant more bottles fitting the same space and fewer breakages. Ingenious.
“You’re not the product of your circumstances, but rather the product of your decisions.” – Steve Jobs
Thank you for reading.
