They make an unlikely trio, but what do Lewis Hamilton, the racing driver, actor Harvey Keitel and Italian footballer Roberto Baggio have in common?

The answer is that they have all at some time helped to promote Johnnie Walker, the world’s best-selling brand of scotch whisky. Baggio and Keitel appeared in television ads for the brand, while Hamilton’s Formula One team Mercedes McLaren is sponsored by Johnnie Walker.

Their contribution will be especially appreciated by managers at Diageo, the British drinks group that owns the famous whisky.

Paul Walsh, Diageo’s chief executive, announced 10 days ago that sales of Johnnie Walker, which traces its roots back to 1820, had passed sales of £1 billion a year for the first time. This places it in an elite group of global spirits brands that include Bacardi rum and Smirnoff vodka, another Diageo product.

This achievement should not be underestimated, according to industry analysts. Sales of the vodka and rum brands are helped by the availability of ready-to-drink variants such as Bacardi Breezers — they are mass-market labels.

Johnnie Walker, on the other hand, is marketed as a premium spirit and sells at a higher price, cutting down the number of people who would be drawn to it.

“It is a very significant milestone,” said Alan Gray, an analyst at Sutherlands Edinburgh and author of the Scotch Whisky Industry Review.

The challenge will be to keep sales growing. Johnnie Walker has been at the forefront of a general boom in scotch exports over the past three years, but the industry must not get carried away.

A rash of new distilleries, the first for several years, is indicative of the sector’s new-found optimism, but Gray noted that we have been here before.

“One has to be a wee bit cautious,” he said. “The economic background is not the best and it will have an impact. But \ is going through a good period and the medium-term outlook is positive.”

Johnnie Walker’s positioning as a deluxe drink has propelled its recent growth. It sells in significant quantities in mature markets such as America, but it has really taken off in emerging markets such as China, Russia and Latin America. Consumers in those regions regard scotch as an increasingly affordable luxury.

“A lot of our consumers use Johnnie Walker to demonstrate their status,” said David Gates, Johnnie Walker’s brand manager.

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