Whisky
In tracing the rise of the economic giant that
is Johnnie Walker
& Sons, several facts stand out; the firm was
originally not involved in whisky production, and whisky has never
so far as is known, been distilled in
Kilmarnock at all. Nor was John Walker & Sons
the first firm in the town to be involved in the Whiskey
trade.
William Wallace & Co.
William Wallace & Company, founded in 1760, dealt in
Whiskey from the mid 18th Century, and opened the first purpose
built bonded warehouse in Kilmarnock in 1859. From 1878 this firm
was controlled by the Mackay family, and produced the famous 'Real
Mackay' whiskey. During the same period Andrew Thomson also blended
and bottled whiskey under the brand name 'Auld Killie Blend'. Both
these firms were later taken over by John Walker &
Sons.
Johnnie Walker &
Sons
The Walker family had lived and worked on Todriggs farm,
which stood on the Gatehead-Kilmarnock road, since the 15th
Century. In 1820 when the recently orphaned
Johnnie Walker was aged 14, the farm was sold by his
father's trustees and a grocery business was set up for him in
Kilmarnock with the proceeds. Gradually the business concentrated
more and more on the sale of spirits but was still a grocers when
Johnnie Walker died in 1857. It was his son Alexander Walker that
set the business up as 'John Walker & Sons' in 1865 and turned
it over to the blending and bottling of Whisky. The business
expanded rapidly with branches opening in London, Australia, Canada
and South Africa amongst other countries. Johnnie Walker & Sons
became a limited company in 1886.
Although Whisky was not distilled in Kilmarnock, the company
began to buy distilleries all over Scotland, the most famous being
Cardow (now Cardhu) on Speyside. The international fame of Johnnie
Walker really dates from 1909 with the introduction of Johnnie
Walker Red Label and Black Label and the two famous trade marks -
the figure of the 'Striding Man' originally designed by the
cartoonist Tom Browne, and the slogan "Born 1820, still going
strong", reputed to have been coined by James Stevenson (later Lord
Stevenson), a Kilmarnock employee who rose to become a director of
the company. His outstanding abilities were recognised by his
appointment to key government positions during the First World
War, relating to the production of munitions and later to
reconstruction and to civil aviation. Also involved in the Ministry
of Munitions was another key Walker personality -Alexander
Walker, who was made Sir Alexander in 1920. Sir Alexander
piloted the business into new status as a public company in 1923,
and in 1925 into a merger with Distillers and Buchanan-Dewars to
form a new giant spirits company - Distillers Company Limited or
DCL. He encouraged the already existing diversification into
production of industrial alcohol and a range of other chemicals.
The continued expansion of the business was marked by the
construction of new main buildings in
Kilmarnock.
Sir Alexander lived at Piersland House in Troon, and was
closely involved in the local community both in Troon and
Kilmarnock, giving great assistance to many charities, and serving
on Ayr County Council. He was very interested in the arts, and
encouraged many young artists like Robert
Colquhoun. He was particularly generous to
the Dick
Institute in Kilmarnock, donating many of the most
important paintings now in the collections there. This continued a
tradition of support from leaders of the whisky industry, since the
establishment of the Burns Monument and Library in Kilmarnock had
been supported by Alexander Walker Senior, while the Dick Institute
Library collection had been largely due to the influence of Provost
David Mackay (1844-1909) of William Wallace & Co. Sir Alexander
retired in 1940, and died in 1950, the last of the family to be
involved in the firm. The company continues to play a major role in
the local economy. As already explained, whisky production in
Kilmarnock has never depended on local distilling. The business in
Ayrshire has involved the skilled blending of a variety of malt
whiskies with grain whisky to produce blends with consistent
quality, which are then bottled. The maturing of the Whisky
involves storage in wooden casks for a minimum of three years, and
for Walker whiskies much longer. At one time this supported a large
local cooperage industry. Casks are still used, but coopering is no
longer done in Kilmarnock. Although bottling and labelling are
still done in the town, mechanisation has meant that these
operations are now carried out by a fraction of the workers once
employed. Now under the ownership of Guinness PLC, Johnnie Walker
continues to play a large part in the life of Kilmarnock, and its
products continue to dominate the international whisky market
living up to one of it's old advertising slogans "The supremacy of
Johnnie Walker in all waters, like a British Dreadnought, is still
unchallenged".