Glen Grant

Introduction:

Glen Grant Distillery, located in the charming town of Rothes in Speyside, is one of the world’s top five best-selling distilleries. It is renowned both as a highly acclaimed Single Malt distillery and a major producer of Single Malt used in Chivas Blends. The distillery’s official bottlings include a 10-year-old, 16-year-old, and the Major’s Reserve, along with an extensive vintage collection. Gordon & McPhail, an independent bottler, has played a significant role in Glen Grant’s history, offering Single Malt bottlings since the 1930s. Glen Grant is also a key component in Chivas Blends, with over half of its impressive production dedicated to this purpose.

Production:

Impressively, Glen Grant has a production capacity of 5.9 million liters. Due to its dual production purposes, the distillery operates at full capacity year-round. The nearby Caperdonich Well provides the water needed for this large-scale operation.

Pot Stills:

Glen Grant boasts eight powerful stills at the heart of its production. It has four wash stills with a capacity of 15,100 liters and four spirit stills with a capacity of 9,600 liters. The stills have unique features, including a broad base shape that narrows into a tall neck, contributing to the Whisky’s light taste. Both wash and spirit stills have a special hump section with slender reflux bowls. Some stills have shortened S-shaped lyne arms to fit in the limited space between the still and the condenser.

Malting:

Glen Grant was one of the early adopters of pneumatic drum maltings in Scotland, which are still in use today. Originally steam-powered, they were later converted to electrical operation in the 1940s. The distillery used its own maltings until 1971 and now sources entirely unpeated barley from an industrial site near Buckie on the Moray coast.

Warehouse:

To accommodate the modern production levels, Glen Grant has seven dunnage warehouses on-site and additional warehouses in nearby Rothes. The on-site warehouses hold 11,500 Bourbon casks, while off-site warehouses age the Single Malt in Sherry casks. Single Malt intended for Chivas Blends is immediately transported off-site for maturation in Chivas’ warehouses.

History:

Founded in 1840 by the Grant brothers, former illegal distillers and smugglers, Glen Grant chose an ideal location in close proximity to the port of Garmouth, the River Spey, and abundant barley fields. This favorable combination led to the distillery’s success. In 1872, James Grant passed away, and his son, Major James Grant Junior, took over the distillery. The Major not only managed his father’s distillery but also founded Glen Grant No. 2 nearby to increase production capacity. Unfortunately, Glen Grant No. 2 closed just five years after opening in 1902. The site was later reopened as Caperdonich distillery in 1965 but ultimately demolished in 2011.

In 1953, Glen Grant merged with Glenlivet to form Glenlivet and Glen Grant Distilleries Ltd. Throughout the second half of the 20th century, Glen Grant underwent several corporate mergers. The connection between Glen Grant and Chivas began when Seagram acquired the distillery in 1978. In the 1970s, the number of stills increased from four to six. Diageo purchased part of Seagram in 2001 but had to sell the Glen Grant distillery to Davide Campari in 2006 due to industry regulations. Despite various mergers and acquisitions, Glen Grant remains the only single malt distillery to bear its founders’ name.

Under the ownership of Campari, Glen Grant has continued to thrive, particularly in Italy, which is now the largest global market for whisky.

Visitor’s Centre:

Glen Grant has an excellent visitor’s centre that welcomes over 10,000 visitors annually. The distillery tour is included in the experience.

Visitor information:

Glen Grant Distillery
Rothes
Aberlour
Ab38 7BS
Tel: +44 (1340) 832118
Email: visitorcentre@glengrant.com