Meet the Distiller: Emma Walker, Master Blender at Johnnie Walker
Full name and distillery you work at?
Dr Emma Walker. I work in the Whisky Lab at Diageo’s Brand Technical Centre in Menstrie, where we curate the many distilleries whose whiskies and flavours come together in each blend of Johnnie Walker.
What made you want to work in whisky?
In all honesty, it was a serendipitous job application! I’d finished my PhD and returned to Scotland looking for an interesting role and the Project Scientist opening at Diageo seemed promising.
Once I got into the room and realised what whisky legends were sitting across from me (Jim Beveridge, Maureen Robinson, Caroline Martin and Keith Law), I knew I had stumbled upon something special.”
How did you get into the distiller role you’re in now?
My first foray into Scotch was joining Diageo as a project scientist in the whisky specialist team in 2008, before managing the quality lab at Cameronbridge distillery.
Then I was a trainee site manager at Knockando distillery, before moving back to the whisky team in 2014, and later managing the wider whisky team.
I then started to work on strategic projects with Jim Beveridge, the Master Blender at the time, which segued into becoming the master blender for Johnnie Walker at the start of 2022, upon Jim’s retirement.
What is something surprising that people might not know about your role?
Perhaps how forward-looking it is. It’s the nature of my work that when we’re making decisions on newmake production, we’re aware that some of our decisions will only be experienced by the next generation of blenders. And when I source casks for new blends today, I’m reaping the rewards of decisions made by those who came before me.
My role is that of a custodian, a serious responsibility, but an honour! There’s 200 years of history for my specific role, so a big part of it is setting the brand up to continue flourishing and creating great whisky, even after my tenure concludes.
What characteristics are you looking for in the whiskies you make and how do they represent the region/distillery?
The main characteristics are ones that are essential across every blend we create. They must be of high quality, and consistent – this is crucial at the scale with which we operate.
A wonderful balanced flavour gives each blend the depth we’re famous for, but this is important whether we’re blending for a new batch of Johnnie Walker Black Label, a Talisker, or an entirely new whisky.
What was the first whisky you ever tried?
I jumped straight into the world of peat, enjoying a Talisker 10 and Lagavulin 16 – not bad for a first introduction!”
Tell us about your new make, and what makes it so special?
I think what’s most special is the breadth of distilleries we source from. We’re in a fortunate position to have such rich diversity at our fingertips with more than 30 distilleries – each with a unique character that gives our blends their distinctive complexity and depth of flavour.
Leveraging this network gives us representation from across the four corners of Scotland, and more importantly, it represents the amazing people and places that shape each distillery.
Are you working on any exciting new releases this year?
Absolutely – the experimentation, exploration and innovation we’re able to embark on through Johnnie Walker is such an exciting part of my job. We have a few up our sleeves, but if I say any more I’ll ruin the surprise!
We’ve just released Johnnie Walker Black Cask in the USA, which is a Scotch that has the spirit of a Bourbon – it’s a bridge between two great whisk(e)y making nations that I’m really proud of.
Even more recently, we’ve just launched Johnnie Walker Red Soul, a more accessible Scotch for non-whisky drinkers that will roll out globally.
Who is your whisky hero?
This is like asking me to pick a favourite child! If I had to pick, I would first want to acknowledge those I work with in the whisky team, whether at present or in the past: Jim Beveridge, Maureen Robinson, Craig Wilson and Craig Wallace, and the incredible crafts people from across the Scotch industry - their contributions make Scotch the global giant it is.
I’m going to settle on a top two, which is as close as I can get to choosing: the iconic Sir Alexander Walker and Elizabeth Cummings.
Alexander Walker was the son of John ‘Johnnie’ Walker, who inherited the business and whose business acumen set it on the incredible path we still walk today.
Elizabeth Cummings is another inheritor who made great strides with the lot she had been given, transforming Cardhu with a trademark and a new distillery.”
What’s your unpopular whisky opinion?
The narrative of single malts being in competition with the wonder of blends. Blending whisky is like putting together an orchestra - how is it not amazing to bring these different characters and notes together?
You don’t want just the soloist, you want the harmony brought by the violin, the bass, the flute – blends are a marriage of flavour that are greater than the sum of their parts. It’s an instrumental method in other industries; the formulation and blending of perfume is such a considered and bespoke practice, so I hope we can talk more about whisky blends in the same way.”
If {your whisky} was a movie star, who would they be?
It would be someone who can move easily and naturally into an array of different roles - that feels like a shared characteristic with my favourite whisky creations.
I’ll have to shout out my nation’s peers here - Scotch isn’t the only impressive export we have! David Tennant, Ncuti Gatwa, James McAvoy, Ewan McGregor, Tilda Swinton, and Kelly Macdonald are all fantastic examples of authentic artistry and chameleon talent.
Describe {your whisky} in three words
Balanced, versatile and flavourful.
Now describe yourself in three words
This is harder! I would say: curious, approachable and creative.