DISCOVER THE JOHNNIE WALKER STORY
MAKING AN ICON
Who is Johnnie Walker? This is where our whisky history begins, naturally enough, with the man who gave our whisky his name. In 1820, the young farmer’s son started his own grocer’s shop in the thriving town of Kilmarnock. His father had died the year before and the farm sold. It was a tough start in life, but John was resilient and unique.
When John passed away after a full and prosperous life in 1857, he left his son, Alexander, with a very healthy business. These were fast-moving times. Britain was the pulsating heart of an Industrial Revolution that was set to change absolutely everything. In Kilmarnock, the railway had arrived, carrying goods to great ships travelling to the four corners of the world. Like his father, Alexander knew a good opportunity when he saw one.
