William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887[1] by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018.[2] It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership.[3]
 | |
| Industry | Drink industry |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1887 |
| Founder | William Grant |
| Headquarters | Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK |
| Products | Alcoholic drinks |
| Website | www |
The company is the third largest producer of Scotch whisky (8% market share), shipping about 7.6 million cases per year, with brands including Glenfiddich and Balvenie.[4][5] The first and second largest, respectively, are Diageo (34.4%), and Pernod Ricard.[6][7] The company is registered at The Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown.[8] The main operational headquarters are located at Strathclyde Business Park, North Lanarkshire. Sales and marketing headquarters are in Richmond, London. The company is a member of the Scotch Whisky Association.[9][3]
The master blender of Grant's is Brian Kinsman,[10][11] who succeeded David Stewart who had been in his post for 47 years, the longest serving master blender with one distiller in the industry.[12][citation needed]
William Grant & Sons has won the Queen's Award to Industry for Outstanding Export Achievement.[citation needed]
History
editWilliam Grant was born in Dufftown in 1839. In 1886, Grant and his six sons started construction of Glenfiddich distillery.[13] On Christmas Day, 1887, the distillery was operational.[14]
In 1892, William Grant & Sons built a second neighbouring distillery called Balvenie.[15]
In 1963 Girvan grain whisky distillery was built in South Ayrshire, Scotland.[16]
In 1990, William Grant & Sons founded the Kininvie distillery.[17]
In 1992 William Grant & Sons bought the Convalmore distillery, to increase warehousing capacity for Glenfiddich.[18]
In 1999 William Grant & Sons launched Hendrick's Gin, a brand of gin produced at the Girvan distillery, Scotland.[19]
In 1999, the company acquired Highland Distillers through a partnership with Edrington Group taking a majority interest (the 1887 Company).[20]
In October 2002, the company acquired the Canadian whisky brand Gibson's Finest.[21]
In 2005, William Grant & Sons established a distillery in Borgarnes, Iceland to make vodka. The brand was named Reyka.[22]
In October 2005, the company bought Raynal & Cie and acquired the brandy brands Three Barrels and The Raynal.[23]
In 2009, Ailsa Bay distillery was built to meet needs for malt whisky for blended whiskies.[24]
In May 2010 the group bought four brands from C&C Group, including Tullamore D.E.W., for €300m.[25] In September they sold the three minor brands (Irish Mist, Carolans, Frangelico) to Gruppo Campari for €129m, so in effect, Grants paid €171m for the Tullamore D.E.W. brand and its production facilities.[26]
In July 2014 Grant's donated "in the region of £100,000" to the unionist campaign group Better Together, with the company being "said to have also donated smaller sums of money to other groups who are campaigning for a 'No' vote," ahead of the Scottish independence referendum.[27]
In September 2014, William Grant & Sons, bought Drambuie liqueur for an estimated price of about £100 million.[28][29]
In March 2020, the company switched production at three of its distilleries to create approximately five million litres of ethanol over an eight-week period to produce hand sanitiser during the Covid-19 pandemic.[30] In that same month, William Grant & Sons closed all of its visitor centres due to the same pandemic.[31] In June 2020, the company reopened some of its visitor centres with increased hygiene measures.[32]
In September 2020, Fistful of Bourbon the company first bourbon was launched in the American market.[33]
In February 2022, William Grant & Sons launched its first low-alcoholic spirits Atopia.[34]
In September 2023, it was announced William Grant & Sons had acquired the Guildford-headquartered gin producer, Silent Pool Distillers.[35]
In September 2024, William Grant & Sons reached an agreement to buy The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt from Edrington, subject to customary regulatory approvals.[36]
Distilleries
editDistilleries owned by William Grant & Sons:
- Ailsa Bay distillery[37]
- Balvenie distillery[4][5]
- Convalmore distillery is a former whisky distillery in Dufftown, closing operations in 1985. William Grant & Sons bought the distillery in 1992, for the warehouses, to increase warehousing capacity for Glenfiddich. The Convalmore distillery produced whisky for other brands. The name Convalmore however is used for selected whiskies, although the distillery never produced a whisky under their own name. The brand name is owned by Diageo.[4]
- Girvan grain distillery[38]
- Glenfiddich distillery[4][5]
- Kininvie distillery[39]
- Ladyburn distillery closed in 1975[40]
- Tullamore distillery (Ireland)[38]
Brands
editThe company's leading single malt Scotch brand is Glenfiddich, the best-selling single malt Scotch in the world as of 2016.[41] Roughly 1.22 million cases of Glenfiddich were sold in 2017. Another Grant single malt Scotch whisky also made the top ten list of best-selling Scotch whiskies in 2017: The Balvenie (#6).[42][4] Another very popular blended whisky is Monkey Shoulder.[42] In 2021 the company's leading blended whisky, Grant's, was the number three in the world's best-selling Scotch whiskies behind Johnnie Walker and Ballantine’s.[43]
William Grant & Sons beverage brands include:[44]
- Scotch whisky:
- Single malt Scotch whisky: Aerstone, Ailsa Bay, Glenfiddich, Kininvie, The Balvenie
- Blended malt Scotch whisky: Monkey Shoulder
- Blended Scotch whisky: Grant's, House of Hazelwood, Clan MacGregor, Wildmoor[45]
- American whiskey: Fistful of Bourbon, Hudson Whiskey [46]
- Canadian whisky: Gibson's Finest
- Irish whiskey: Tullamore D.E.W.
- Brandy: Three Barrels, The Raynal
- Gin: Hendrick's, Verano
- Liqueur: Drambuie, Solerno, The Knot
- Low-alcoholic spirit: Atopia
- Mixed drinks: Taboo
- Rum: Sailor Jerry, Old Vatted Demerara (O.V.D.), Woods Old Navy
- Tequila: Milagro
- Vodka: Reyka
Rare whiskies
editWilliam Grant & Sons produces a number of rare whiskies, most of which are described in the articles on Glenfiddich, Grant's and The Balvenie. However, their rare whiskies also include:
- Girvan First Batch Distillation (from casks filled in 1964)
- Ladyburn (from Ladyburn distillery, closed in 1975)
- Snow Phoenix (a one-off by Glenfiddich produced as a blend of all the whisky—between three and 50 years in age—recovered after heavy snow destroyed a warehouse where the whisky was being aged)
Other rare whiskies have been bottled as private vintages for Concorde, Queen Mary 2 and the Royal Danish Wedding.
Highland Distillers brands
editWilliam Grant & Sons and the Edrington Group took Highland Distillers private in 1999[47] forming the 1887 Company, in which William Grant and Sons hold a 30% stake.
Brands owned by Highland Distillers at that time:
- Black Bottle, this brand was sold subsequently to Burn Stewart Distillers in 2004
- Gloag's London Dry Gin, brand name owned by Edrington
- Highland Park, brand name now owned by Edrington
- The Famous Grouse, brand name now owned by Edrington
- The Macallan, brand name now owned by Edrington
Other brands
edit- Virgin Vodka, a now defunct brand which Grant's co-developed with Richard Branson's Virgin Group.
Notable personnel
edit- David Stewart, former master blender
- Charlotte Voisey, global head of ambassadors[48][49][50][51]
References
edit- ^ "Welcome". William Grant & Sons. Retrieved 22 June 2017.
- ^ "Scotland's richest billionaires revealed". BBC News. 12 May 2018. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Scotch on the Rocks—How Trump's Trade Tariffs Could Harm a Favorite Nightcap". Fortune. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Top 15 Scotch whisky companies | WhiskyInvestDirect". whiskyinvestdirect.com.
- ^ a b c "William Grant donates CA$25k to help Canadian bartenders". 21 April 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Top 15 Scotch whisky companies | WhiskyInvestDirect". www.whiskyinvestdirect.com. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ Schrieberg, Felipe. "The 4 Companies Behind 3/4 Of All Scotch Whisky Production". Forbes. Retrieved 30 July 2018.
- ^ "William Grant & Sons Global Brands | Distiller of Premium Spirits". williamgrant.com.
- ^ "Members Directory". Scotch Whisky Association. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "The Brian Kinsman Interview | WhiskyCast". whiskycast.com. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "William Grant's Kinsman: 'We need blended Scotch to be relevant'". 7 December 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2020.
- ^ "Celebrating the unexpected: The Balvenie presents the fourth chapter of The Balvenie DCS Compendium". The Moodie Davitt Report. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ The Riverside Dictionary of Biography. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 2005. p. 332.
- ^ Smith, Gavin D. (2002). The Secret Still: Scotland's Clandestine Whisky Makers. Birlinn.
- ^ Helen Arthur (2002) [1997]. The single malt companion (in Dutch). Lisbeth Machielsen (trans.). Libero. p. 66. ISBN 978-9057642364.
- ^ "William Grant & Sons Releases Rare Girvan Single Grain Bottling". Cask Strength Media. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- ^ John. "Kininvie|Whiskipedia". whiskipedia.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Jackson, Michael (2015). Malt Whisky Companion. Scotland: Dorling Kindersley. p. 108. ISBN 9780241429112.
- ^ "Hendrick's Gin - It is not for everyone". Hendrick's Gin - Distilled Scottish Gin Infused with Rose & Cucumber. Archived from the original on 28 March 2014. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
- ^ "THE 1887 COMPANY LIMITED overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 12 August 2022.
- ^ beveragedaily.com. "Gibson's Finest brings rye smile to William Grant". beveragedaily.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "William Grant to showcase Reyka Vodka from Iceland's first ever distillery - 10/10/05". The Moodie Davitt Report. 9 October 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "William Grant & Sons acquires Raynal & Cie – 07/10/05". The Moodie Davitt Report. 6 October 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Ailsa Bay". www.whisky.com. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Everest in panoramic HD. "Plan to sell spirits division sends C&C shares soaring - Irish, Business". Independent.ie. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
- ^ "William Grant to sell Irish Mist". The Irish Times. 9 September 2010. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 16 September 2010.
- ^ "Scottish independence: Distiller William Grant and Sons donates to Better Together". BBC News. BBC. 6 July 2014. Retrieved 6 July 2014.
- ^ "William Grant & Sons buys Drambuie brand". BBC News. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
- ^ "Glenfiddich owner William Grant buys Drambuie" (Press release). Reuters. 8 September 2014.
- ^ "William Grant to make 5m litres of alcohol for hand sanitiser". 30 March 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "William Grant closes Glenfiddich and Balvenie to public". 16 March 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Our Visitor Centres in Scotland and Ireland are open | William Grant & Sons". www.williamgrant.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
- ^ "Fistful of Bourbon Launches Nationally". BevNET.com. 16 September 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Morgan, Rhodri (10 February 2022). "William Grant & Sons rolls out Atopia to Global Travel Retail". Just Drinks. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "William Grant & Sons acquires Silent Pool Distillers". The Moodie Davitt Report. 14 September 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
- ^ Collins, Georgie (23 September 2024). "Edrington exits blended Scotch with Famous Grouse sale". The Spirits Business. Retrieved 24 September 2024.
- ^ Schrieberg, Felipe. "Ailsa Bay Releases Blockchain-Protected Scotch Whisky". Forbes. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ a b "William Grant to make 5m litres of alcohol for hand sanitiser". 30 March 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "William Grant unveils 'experimental' Kininvie whiskies". 7 October 2019. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
- ^ "Ladyburn". www.whisky.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Koutsakis, George. "World's Bestselling Single Malt Whisky Undergoes Risky Change". Forbes.
- ^ a b "Top 10 best-selling Scotch malt whiskies | Scotch Whisky". scotchwhisky.com.
- ^ "Top 10 best-selling Scotch whiskies | Scotch Whisky". scotchwhisky.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ "Our brands | William Grant & Sons". www.williamgrant.com. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
- ^ Carruthers, Nicola (8 April 2024). "William Grant debuts Wildmoor whisky". The Spirits Business. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
- ^ Willson, Geoffrey. "Tuthilltown Spirits in Gardiner bought by Scottish distiller". Poughkeepsie Journal. Poughkeepsie Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
- ^ "William Grant & Sons | Scotch Whisky". scotchwhisky.com.
- ^ Simonson, Robert (10 August 2010). "From Bartender to Liquor Brand Promoter". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ Querisma, Quia (22 August 2013). "Award-Winning Mixologist Charlotte Voisey Talks Dinner Cocktails". HuffPost. Retrieved 11 August 2024.
- ^ Bustamante, Lou (13 November 2017). "3 Brand Ambassadors Describe What They Do". Seven Fifty.
- ^ Lu, Hunter (21 June 2024). "Charlotte Voisey, an award-winning mixologist at the cocktail bar two fifteen, has created an exciting line of colorful cocktails". The Manual. Retrieved 11 August 2024.