5 Things You Might Not Know About Johnnie Walker

Johnnie Walker is one of the most famous whisky brands in the world. Behind this iconic spirit lie a number of intriguing facts you may never have heard before.

For many whisky brands, names generally come from one of two places: the region or village where the distillery is located, or the family that founded the company. In Johnnie Walker’s case, that’s an easy one: the namesake is Johnnie Walker himself.

Despite laying the foundation for one of the world’s biggest whisky brands, Walker didn’t drink his own whisky. In fact, he didn’t drink any whisky at all, he was a teetotaler. He also didn’t start out with experience in blending whisky, but he did know a thing or two about combining different teas. Johnnie Walker worked in a grocer’s shop.

When he began importing spirits from around the world, he encountered a wide variety of styles. Consistency in the 19th century wasn’t great, with quality varying from cask to cask. Walker used his knowledge to create a whisky that was consistent and stripped of impurities.

That approach proved incredibly successful. It kept customers coming back, because they knew they could count on the same experience every time with Walker.

Although Johnnie Walker set the brand in motion with a winning formula, he wasn’t the one who turned it into the powerhouse we know today. For that, we have to look to his son, Alexander Walker.

He was the one who saw not just a popular local product, but something with export potential. Alexander launched the first official Johnnie Walker bottle: Old Highland Whisky, with a white label.

That very first bottle already featured many of the hallmark traits we still associate with the brand today. First, there’s the label itself. The rectangular label was applied at a slant across the front of the bottle. The only difference now is that the labels are a bit larger and there are more variations.

The first bottle was also square, just as it still is in 2024. But Alexander Walker didn’t choose that shape to make the bottle stand out on the shelf. No, it was purely about cost.

A square bottle is more resistant to knocks. Thanks to its geometry, a cube is stronger than a cylinder. Fewer bottles broke in transit, which saved a lot of money. And with a square design, you can fit more bottles in a single crate, another cost saver.

The third element that makes a Johnnie Walker bottle so iconic is the logo. The walking man has appeared on the brand’s bottles since 1908 and for the same reason logos are used today: to stand out from the competition.

Whereas logos are now crafted by design studios and specialists, at the start of the 20th century Johnnie Walker turned to a cartoonist. Tom Browne created the distinctive logo. It was far more detailed back then, but many features remain: the top hat, the tailcoat, and the cane.

As a drink, Johnnie Walker has broad appeal, it’s one of the best-selling whiskies in the world, after all. But it holds a special place among musicians. The brand is name-checked strikingly often in the music world.

The whisky is mentioned by name in songs by the likes of Lady Gaga, Elliott Smith, ZZ Top, and Passenger. Guitarist Zakk Wylde went a step further than most: he’s such a big Johnnie Walker fan that he named his band Black Label Society. You don’t need a degree to figure out which Johnnie Walker he prefers.

Discover more of our top lists.