Johnnie Walker

Infobox Beverage
name = Johnnie Walker


type = Scotch whisky
manufacturer = Diageo
origin = Scotland
introduced = 1820: Grocery store
1865: Scotch blending
variants = Red Label, Black Label, Swing, Green Label, Gold Label, Blue Label
discontinued = White Label
related = Ballantine's, Chivas Regal, Cutty Sark, Dewar's, Vat 69
slogan = Keep Walking.Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, Scotland. It is the most widely distributed brand of Scotch whisky in the world, sold in almost every country and with yearly sales of over 120 million bottles. [ [http://www.johnniewalker.com/en-us/OurLabels Not Available ] ]

History of Johnnie Walker

Originally known as "Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky", the brand is a legacy left by John ‘Johnnie’ Walker after he started to sell whisky in his grocer’s shop in Ayrshire, Scotland. The brand became popular, but after Walker's death in 1857 it was his son Alexander Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II who were largely responsible for establishing the whisky as a popular brand. Under John Walker, whisky sales represented eight percent of the firm’s income; by the time Alexander was ready to pass on the company to his own sons, that figure had increased to between 90 and 95 percent. [http://www.cigaraficionado.com/Cigar/CA_Features/CA_Feature_Basic_Template/0,2344,737,00.html]

Prior to 1860 it was illegal to sell blended (malt and grain mixed together) whisky. [MacLean, Charles. "Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History". ©2003 Charles MacLean & Cassell Illustrated. London, England. (ISBN 1-84403-078-4)] During that time John Walker sold a number of whiskys — notably his own "Walker’s Kilmarnock". In 1865 John’s son Alexander produced their first blend, "Walker’s Old Highland".

Alexander Walker first introduced the iconic square bottle in 1870. The other identifying characteristic of the bottle is the label, which is applied at an angle of 24 degrees.

From 1906–1909 John’s grandsons George and Alexander II expanded the line and introduced the colour names. In 1908, when James Stevenson was the Managing Director, there was a re-branding of sorts. The whisky was renamed from Walker's Kilmarnock Whiskies to Johnnie Walker Whisky. In addition, the slogan, "Born 1820 – Still going Strong!" was created, along with the Striding Man, a figure used in their advertisements for around fifty years.

They dropped "Johnnie Walker White" during World War I. In 1932, Alexander II added "Johnnie Walker Swing" to the line.

Johnnie Walker continues to be blended in Kilmarnock, with a large plant just north of the town's railway station. The historic bonded warehouses and company offices (now local authority) can still be seen in Strand Street and John Finnie Street.

Blends

For most of its history Johnnie Walker only offered a few blends. In recent years there have been several special and limited bottlings.

tandard blends

* "Red & Cola" – a premix of Red Label and cola, sold in cans and beer-bottle like bottles. This product has also been marketed under the names "Premix" and "One". In Australia, this drink is informally referred to as 'Johnnie be good'.

* "Red Label" — a blend of around 35 grain and malt whiskies. It is intended for making mixed drinks. [Mixing use per http://us.johnniewalker.com] 80 proof. 40% ABV.

* "Black Label" — a blend of about 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years. According to William Manchester this was the favorite Scotch of Winston Churchill. [cite book |last=Manchester |first=William |title=The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Alone 1932-1940 |origyear= 1988 |origmonth=10|edition=Revised|year=1988|month=October |publisher=Little, Brown and Co. |location=p 10|isbn=0316545120 |pages=756 |chapter=The Lion Caged |] 80 proof. 40% ABV.

* Johnnie Walker Swing — supplied in a distinctive bottle whose irregular bottom allows it to rock back and forth. It was Alexander II’s last blend: it features a high proportion of Speyside malts, complemented by malts from the northern Highlands and Islay, and is "almost as sweet as a bourbon." [http://www.travelandleisure.com/tlgolf/articles/golf-one-sweet-swing One Sweet Swing | Travel + Leisure Golf ] ]

* "Green Label" — a vatted malt that is a blend of about 15 individual single malts, the signature malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila – Aged 15 years. 86 proof. 43% ABV. Previously sold under the name 'Pure Malt'.

* "Gold Label" — a rare blend of over 15 single malts, including the very rare Clynelish malt. It was derived from Alexander II's blending notes for a whisky to commemorate Johnnie Walker's centenaryFact|date=August 2007. His original efforts were thwarted by a shortage of these malts following World War I. Gold Label is commonly bottled at 15 or 18 years. 80 proof. 40% ABV.

* "Blue Label" — Johnnie Walker's premium blend. Every bottle is serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. There is no age declaration for Blue Label although its information booklet states that some of the blends used are "up to 60 years old". 80 proof.

pecial/limited bottlings

* "Johnnie Walker Black Label Anniversary Edition" 1908 - 2008
* "Millennium Edition" – a collectors edition of 12 year old "Black Label" was released in limited amounts in the year 2000.
* "Deco" – a very limited number of 350 ml bottles were produced in beautiful Art Deco-designed bottles, hence the name of this blend.
* "Premier" – a blend aimed specifically at the Japanese market.
* "Swing Superior" – a limited edition variety based on the "Swing" blend, marked by its distinctive golden label. 86.8 proof.
*"1939 Swing" $1500
*"Celebrity"
*"Johnnie Walker 1820"
*"Liquer Whisky" $1200
* "21 year old" – a rare aged variation of Gold Label.
* "Quest" – a very special blend, rarer than Blue Label. (~$500)
* "Honour" – one of the most rare and most expensive blends of Johnnie Walker Scotch whisky.
* "Excelsior" – a very rare double matured Scotch whisky, distilled in 1947, bottled in 1997. (~$700)
* "Old Harmony" – a rare blend marketed at the Japanese market. Very expensive. (~$850)
* "15 year old Kilmarnock 400 Whisky" – an extremely rare Gold Label blend bottled to mark the 400th anniversary of the granting of burgh status to Kilmarnock. Released in 1992 in very limited amounts. (~$850)
* "150 years Anniversary 1820–1970" – the second most expensive of Johnnie Walker whiskies. (~$2,000)
* "Blue Label 200th Anniversary – 2005 saw Johnnie Walker's extremely limited bottling of its ultimate blend. A special release of cask strength Blue Label, in a special square Baccarat crystal decanter. It is the most expensive Johnnie Walker product, selling recently for over $3,599 a bottle.
* "Blue Label 1805 – On July 25th 2005, the makers of Johnnie Walker® Blue Label™, celebrated the birth (200th Anniversary) of its founder with the release of just 200 bottles of a special edition blend, specially created by the Johnnie Walker® Master Blender, Jim Beveridge None of the 200 bottles were made available for retail sale. In recognition of John Walker’s entrepreneurial success in bringing whisky of the highest quality to the world, the bottles were presented to individuals deemed to have made the most significant contribution to modern life. It is estimated each bottle is valued at 30,000 USD
* "Blue Label King George V Edition" - 2007 To recreate the Johnnie Walker blending style from King George V era. Oak casks dating back to the last century were used to age the whisky, sourced from distilleries operating during the reign of King George V. Special packaging in crystal decanter accompanied by an individually numbered certificate of authenticity.(~$550)
* "Johnnie Walker Blue Label Mini Blended Scotch Whisky" - a very rare item that includes a hand blown nosing glass and sealed tasting notes and booklet on blue label whisky, $250

Marketing

Every type of Johnnie Walker scotch has a different colour as previously noted. The purpose is to denote the different type of scotch and to position them to be used for different occasions. For example, Johnnie Walker Blue Label is rare and expensive, and so it is intended to be used for special occasions.

A key feature of every bottle of Johnnie Walker scotch is the Striding Man logo. It was created by an illustrator named Tom Browne to be a likeness of John Walker in traditional attire. In the logo, the man is walking forward, which Diageo says symbolises forward thinking and the pursuit for excellence. Diageo has created "The Striding Man Society" which is a members club for Johnnie Walker drinkers. The club can be joined by going [http://us.johnniewalker.com here] . [http://us.johnniewalker.com Johnniewalker ] ]

Another key aspect of its marketing is the slanting label. This was an advertising tool developed by Alexander Walker who thought it would help his bottles stand out on the shelf.

ponsorships

Johnnie Walker sponsors
* The Johnnie Walker Classic, an Asia-Pacific golf tournament
* The Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles, a golf tournament in Scotland
* The McLaren-Mercedes F1 team.
* The Ashes, a cricket series between Australia and England

In Popular Culture

A number of singers and songwriters have referenced Johnnie Walker in their works, including George Thorogood, Brand New, Leonard Cohen, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sticky Fingaz, NOFX, Rory Gallagher, Asleep at the Wheel, Inspectah Deck, George Jones, Amanda Marshall, Jimmy Buffett, Elliott Smith, Ben Folds, Trent Willmon, Clutch, The Band, Covenant, Marius Müller-Westernhagen,The Streets, King Tee, Vampire Weekend and ZZ Top.

Johnnie Walker whisky appears in fiction often, and Blue label is often used as an example of high-end scotch. Notable examples—in which the whisky was an unusually notable part of the story-include:
* In Haruki Murakami's novel "Kafka on the Shore" a character appears named Johnnie Walker, his attire based on the red jacket, boots, cane, bow-tie and hat worn by the character in the product's logo. Johnnie Walker is extremely popular in Japan. This character is also a reference to real-life Joni Waka, the director of A.R.T. (Artist Residency Tokyo). His dog Francis Bacon also appears in the book. Despite the actions of their namesakes in Murakami's work, Waka and Bacon are both actually vegetarians.
* Léon Gontran Damas, French poet of the Negritude literary movement, titled one of his poetry collections "Black-Label", after one of his poems describing his spleen and mild alcoholism.
* Nationally-famous 1950s Bollywood actor Johnny Walker took his pseudonym from the whisky company. He did so because of his debut in the film industry as a drunkard.
* In the episode "Bartlet for America" of "The West Wing", the recovering alcoholic character Leo McGarry is revealed in flashback to have suffered a relapse three years earlier when he was offered a glass of Blue Label by a group of political donors he was trying to court. During the episode, Blue Label is praised by the character for its high quality.
* In the television series "Scrubs" the Janitor steals some of Dr. Cox´s drink at a bar when he runs off. He mutters, "Black Label."
* During the spring 2008 season, the popular retailer Old Navy marketed a t-shirt which read "Jim, Jack and Johnny — The Three Wise Men" in reference not only to Johnnie Walker (although the name is misspelled), but also two other popular whiskies Jim Beam, and Jack Daniels.
*Preferred drink of Marvel's Tony Stark/Iron Man during the "Demon In A Bottle" story arc.
* Johnnie Walker Black Label was the preferred drink of choice for Rick Deckard, seen in a futuristic custom bottle that is prominently featured in "Blade Runner".
* In an episode of the TV series "Will & Grace", habitually drunk socialite Karen Walker has her maid Rosario Salazar load the minibar at Grace Adler Designs with Johnnie Walker, Jim Beam, and Glenfiddich, much to the dismay of Grace Adler. When Grace learns that king size Kit Kat bars will be added as well, she gives her approval.
* Zakk Wylde named his band Black Label Society after Johnnie Walker Black Label. The Zakk Wylde drinking game is often played where shots of black label are drank whenever a black label society song has pinch harmonics in it.
* The character John Oldman shares a bottle of Johnnie Walker Green Label with his friends to start the film "The Man From Earth" (2007).
* Elliott Smith's oscar-nominated song Miss Misery from the film Good Will Hunting opens with the lyric "I'll fake it through the day/With some help from Johnnie Walker Red."
* In Elmore Leonard's book Pagan Babies, main character Father Terry Dunn keeps Johnnie Walker on hand at his home in Rwanda--Red Label for everyday use, and Black Label for special occasions, or to offer visitors.
* In early drawings of Hergé's Tintin comics, Captain Haddock's favorite brand of Scotch, "Loch Lomond" is seen as Johnnie Walker.

References

General references:
* "Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History" by Charles MacLean. ©2003 Charles MacLean & Cassell Illustrated. ISBN 1-84403-078-4Specific references:

External links

* [http://www.johnniewalker.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.scotlandwhisky.com/distilleries/speyside/Cardhu Details] on how to visit Cardhu distillery, spiritual home to Johnnie Walker