John Walker (born 1805,

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

–1857) was a Scottish grocer, who originated what would become one of the world's most famous

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

brand names,

Johnnie Walker 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 ...

, despite the fact he was himself a

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

Biography

John Walker was born in 1805 near

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

. When his father Alexander died in 1820, he was left £417 in trust. In 1820, the trustees invested in an Italian warehouse, grocery, and wine and spirits shop on the High Street in Kilmarnock. In 1833, John married Elizabeth Purves. He was a respected businessman, leader of the local trade association, and a

Freemason Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. His store's stock was almost entirely destroyed in an 1852 flood, but the business recovered within a couple of years. His own whisky brand, then known as "Walker's Kilmarnock Whisky" was popular locally, although John Walker himself was a

. John's son Alexander Walker (named after John's father) had apprenticed with a tea merchant in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, and there learned the art of

blending tea Twinings Lady Grey tea which is a flavored tea blend containing bergamot oil, citrus peels and flowers Chinese Jasmine tea, a popular scented tea in East Asia. The tea leaves are scented with jasmine flowers. Traditionally, the flowers are no ...

. When he returned to take over the business from his ailing father, he used those skills to create ''Old Highland Whisky'' (eventually renamed ''Johnnie Walker Black Label''), the blend that made

whisky famous. As one writer put it: The Scottish cricketer John Walker, who was later a senior director at John Walker and Co. was a direct descendant of Walker.

References

Additional sources

* ''Scotch Whisky: A Liquid History'' by Charles MacLean. 2003 Charles MacLean & Cassell Illustrated. {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, John 1805 births 1857 deaths People from Kilmarnock Whisky distillers Scottish company founders 19th-century Scottish businesspeople