Farmers grow barley to our high standards. At the malting plant, the barley is naturally prepared for distilling. At the distillery, the malted barley is ground to a rough flour then mashed by passing hot water through it, extracting a sweet liquid. The liquid is then cooled, yeast is added and the mixture ferments, making a kind of crude beer. From this rough form it is distilled in a pot still - the alcohol boils at a lower temperature than water releasing the alcohol vapours first. These vapours are condensed into a clear strong liquid called low wines which, is then distilled a second time. This new spirit is put into oak casks and stored. The storage is the maturation process - newly made Scotch whisky must, by law, be matured for at least three years in Scotland. The whiskies which make up Johnnie Walker Black Label are matured for a minimum of twelve years. Once sufficiently matured, approximately forty malts are blended together to make Johnnie Walker Black Label and about thirty five are used for Johnnie Walker Red Label.
Key Facts
| Date of launch |
1805 |
| Variants |
Johnnie Walker Red
Johnnie Walker Black
Johnnie Walker Blue
Johnnie Walker Green
Johnnie Walker Gold
Johnnie Walker Blue |