Type | Scotch whisky |
---|---|
Manufacturer | Diageo |
Origin | Kilmarnock, Scotland |
Introduced | 1820: Grocery shops 1865: Whisky blending |
Alcohol by volume | 40% |
Website | johnniewalker |
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky produced by Diageo in Scotland. It was established in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire in 1820, and continued to be produced and bottled at the town's Hill Street plant, once the world's largest bottling plant,[1] until its closure in 2012, a decision announced by Diageo in 2009 which would bring the 190-year association between the brand and Kilmarnock to an end.[2]
The brand was first established by grocer John Walker, a native of Kilmarnock, who originally established the business and a grocery shop in 1820, with his son Alexander "Alec" Walker and grandson Alexander Walker II, being largely responsible for establishing the whisky as a favoured brand. It is the world's highest selling Scotch whisky,[3] sold in almost every country, with annual sales of the equivalent of over 223.7 million 700 mL (25 imp fl oz; 24 US fl oz) bottles in 2016 [156,600,000 L (34,400,000 imp gal; 41,400,000 US gal)].[4]