Johnnie Walker Blended Whisky

Johnnie Walker is a brand of blended Scotch whisky, part of the Diageo drinks group. The name draws on the legacy of John ‘Johnnie’ Walker, who was the first to sell whisky in his grocer’s shop in Ayrshire, Scotland, including his own production whisky under the name Walker’s Kilmarnock.

In 1865 John’s son Alexander produced their first blend, Walker’s Old Highland. From 1906–1909 John’s grandsons George and Alexander II expanded the line and introduced the colour names. Red Label  is a blend of around 35 grain and malt whiskies. Black Label blends around 40 whiskies, each aged at least 12 years.

Green Label is a vatted malt whisky that contains 15 individual single malts, the signature malts being Talisker, Cragganmore, Linkwood, and Caol Ila , average age of 15 years. Gold Label represents an extremely 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 centenary.

Blue Label is Johnnie Walker's ultimate blend. Every bottle is serial numbered and sold in a silk-lined box, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity. Although no age is declared, it is believed that the whiskies blended are aged for over 25 years.

Lowlands Whisky

Lowland whiskies come from the area north of the English border, and south of a line drawn between Greenock in the west, and Dundee in the east. Traditionally they have been the source of a lot of the whisky to be used for blends, as such the style is much lighter than other regions, with little or no peat. By the late 19th centaury almost the entire production of the Lowland distilleries went for blending

The growth in popularity and power of the Highland and Speyside distilleries, has been matched by a fall from favour for Lowland producers, to such an extent that today there are only three left in production. By far and away the two biggest whisky distilleries are Auchentoshan and Glenkinchie. The third being Bladnoch, which is also, the most southerly distillery of all.

Auchentoshan Distillery is on the northern edge of Glasgow and was founded in 1800. It has a light, cereal and citrus nose and a clean, dry finish. Glenkinchie Distillery is located at  Pencaitland, just outside Edinburgh. Typical of Lowland malt whiskies: fragrant and reserved, with a clean, fresh flavour.

There are some silent stills, whose whiskies are still found from time to time. Rosebank is quite often seen and was generally considered to be the best Lowland malt. Occasionally, but more rarely seen are St.Magdalene from Linlithgow, Littlemill from Bowling Dumbartonshire and Ladyburn, which was housed inside William Grants grain distillery at Girvan on the Ayrshire coast.