The Beverage Company That Secretly Owns Johnnie Walker

If you are a fan of hard spirits, particularly whiskey, you might be surprised to find out that the person on the label of your favorite bottle doesn't actually own the company – much like how a popular U.S. food company is actually owned by China. When it comes to famed brand, Johnnie Walker, the distinction of ownership belongs to London-based Diageo, the biggest distiller of alcohol across the globe, as well as the maker of one of the world's top beers, Guinness.

Diageo has a rich history starting in the 1600s, before its official founding in 1997. The real life John Walker was a grocer, born in Scotland in 1805, and distinguished himself from other proprietors of his day that tended to sell single malts with uneven flavor palettes by offering his own private label whiskey. Walker saw an opportunity to blend his whiskey and create a consistent brand of alcohol across all of his bottles. Those blends are now part of Diageo's product line, along with over 200 brands sold in 180 countries worldwide.

The brand is known for having a variety of labels and colors, as well as "The Striding Man" logo, and is considered to be the world's best selling Scotch, thanks in part to a number of Americans spending a fair amount of their considerable alcohol budget on the spirit every year. Still, it's not Diageo's best seller, with Forbes reporting that Crown Royal, another liquor in the whiskey family, is helping to offset losses in the scotch market.

Along with Johnnie Walker and Crown Royal, Diageo also owns several other brands including J&B Rare Scotch whisky, Smirnoff and Ketel One vodkas, Captain Morgan rum, Don Julio Tequila, Baileys liqueur, as well as gin brands Gordon's, Tanqueray, and Aviation. Plus, per Mark Littler, in 2021, Diageo invested £150m (or about $200 million) into opening the Johnnie Walker Experience in Edinburgh –which included a roof top bar, venue, and a top-tier Johnnie Walker historical experience to coax fans from around the world to visit and learn about their favorite whiskey's history.

As of 2025, Diageo is finding its financial footing amid economic turmoil and the American tariffs that are rocking the global markets, with Reuters noting that the company announced a minimal drop in annual profits in August 2025, and shares up close to 7%. As other major alcohol brands file for bankruptcy, Diageo has found a way to not just stay above water but also off the rocks of financial ruin.