Still going strong

I don't like Scotch.  Or, as a Scotsman would say, "I don't like whisky."  Except he'd never, ever say that, would he?

I don't like Scotch, but I've always been delighted at the sight of the Johnnie Walker logo.  "Born 1820, still going strong."  Today's version of the logo is a somewhat abstract or idealized version of its classical self, but still recognizably Johnnie. 

Neither liking Scotch nor drinking it, I hadn't thought much about Johnnie Walker -- whose ads no longer fill our better magazines as they once did -- until I came upon a column by "Charlemagne," writing in last week's Economist.  Charlemagne was primarily interested in pointing out that the makers of this highly successful whisky want to keep Scotland in the United Kingdom, and keep the United Kingdom in the European Union.  But he devotes a paragraph to Johnnie Walker's history, and to Britain's ability to distribute the beverage by merchant ship "to the ends of the British empire."

I was intrigued.

John Walker was born, according to the whisky's own website, near Kilmarnock, Scotland, south of Glasgow.  In 1805, not 1820.  But when his dad died in 1819, the family scraped together £537.15 (my goodness, folks, how anachronistic! -- back in 1819 that would have been £537 and 3 shillings!) to buy a grocery for 14-year-old John to manage.  By 1825, John's store was selling everything from stationery to home-made whisky.  When rail lines reached Kilmarnock in 1844, John began trading wholesale throughout the country.

His son Alexander took over the business when John died in 1857 (lives were shorter in those days).  At that time, whisky represented less than ten percent of the firm's sales. In 1860, "John Walker and Sons" began bottling blends (blends having been illegal until that year) in square bottles -- as they still are -- paying commissions to sea captains to sell the cargo around the world.  By 1906, the business, now run by Alexander's sons, was selling three blends: White Label, Black Label and Red Label.

But -- and here comes the big moment, as far as I'm concerned -- in 1908, cartoonist Tom Browne sketched "The Striding Man" on the back of a menu. The illustration showed a prosperous dandy (although probably not 14-year-old Johnnie) as he might have been dressed in 1820. His drawing became one of history's first globally-recognized advertising icons.

The rest of the Johnnie Walker history is merely brand puffery, as far as I'm concerned.  But I am interested in the fact that, over the years, Johnnie Walker has been sold in a variety of blends with a variety of labels:  besides the original red, black and white, there have been green, gold, platinum, and blue labels -- plus nonhued Premix/One and Johnnie Walker Swing.  Green Label was phased out in 2012, but you can still  buy all other blends at your favorite liquor store.

Sadly, the company shut down its facilities in Kilmarnock, its birthplace, last year, and its product is now produced in three other locations in Scotland.

In a changing world, where famous names seem to drop like flies, it's reassuring to note that Johnnie Walker (born 1820) is still going strong: smirking, striding and strutting.  I'll toast his good health and future longevity. 

With a gin and tonic.