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Johnnie Walker Founders
Generations of Walkers
"We are determined to make our whisky so far as quality is concerned of such a standard that nothing in the market shall come before it" – Alexander Walker
John Walker
It all began with the grocery shop established in 1820. It is here that our founder John Walker first started selling and eventually blending his own whiskies to suit his customer needs. In a time where home brewed whiskies were often harsh, difficult to drink and of inconsistent quality, John Walker saw an opportunity to create consistent quality blends for his customers.
Alexander Walker
John’s son, Alexander Walker built on the foundations of the business established by his father and took it to a whole new level. He created the first commercial blend in 1867 `Old Highland Whisky’, with the name John Walker & Sons on the label as a guarantee of quality. Not content with selling this whisky at home, Alexander started the export trade determined to take his whisky to the four corners of the world. Alexander introduced the iconic slanted label and the square bottle, to be distinctive and for his product to stand out on the shelf.
In 1887, he wrote `We are determined to make our whisky so far as quality is concerned of such a standard that nothing in the market shall come before it’
Alexander Walker II and George Paterson Walker
George Paterson Walker and Alexander Walker II continued the journey of their late father Alexander Walker, and took the business and the brand even further.
Records show the malts and grains they had used to create their blends from the 1890s as well as the record of them purchasing Cardhu in 1893 – all to guarantee access to stocks, quality and flavour.
Alexander evolved his father’s `Old Highland Whisky’ into 3 new variants at the start of the 20th century, including Red Label and Black Label. Actual blending notebooks from Alexander’s time provide unique insight into the Walker way of blending, and these continue to inspire our whisky makers till today.
Enquiries
For additional information on our Johnnie Walker portfolio, please contact our Diageo Rare & Exceptional Singapore Private Client team.
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