The story of Johnnie Walker and our whisky history begins with the man who gave our whisky his name. In 1820, the young farmer’s son started his own grocer’s shop in the thriving town of Kilmarnock. His father had died the year before and the farm sold. Within the year, the family farm had been sold and the money used to set him up with his own grocer’s shop in the thriving local town of Kilmarnock. It was a smart move. In those days, most grocers stocked a line of single malts, but they were never consistent. This wasn’t good enough for John. So he started blending them together to create a whisky that tasted just as good every time.