Glen Grant

Glen Grant is a Speyside single malt distillery in Rothes, with a history that reaches back to the nineteenth century. Its story takes in railway building, an early electric lighting date, a Victorian garden and a second distillery across the road. Today, Glen Grant Limited is part of Gruppo Campari. The distillery has a visitor centre and garden, while Italy remains a key market for its whisky. [1, 2, 3]

Founding and the railway

The producer dates Glen Grant’s founding to 1840, when brothers John and James Grant established the distillery. That is the date used in the producer’s account, although Scotch Whisky gives 1839. The difference is worth keeping in mind when reading accounts of the distillery’s beginnings: the sources do not agree on a single founding year. [1, 2]

James Grant’s interests extended beyond whisky. According to the producer, he founded the Morayshire Railway Company, whose trains ran from Lossiemouth to Elgin. A locomotive was named Glen Grant in his honour in 1851. James was also an engineer and became Provost of Elgin. In 1858, the Grant brothers paid for the railway line to be extended south to Rothes, connecting the town to that part of the railway story. [1, 2]

The producer dates the introduction of electric lighting at Glen Grant to 1861. That is important when considering a common claim about the distillery: the lighting date precedes the arrival of James “The Major” Grant as the person in charge. The Major later helped establish Glen Grant as one of the first Scottish distilleries to generate its own electricity, but the producer’s account places the first electric lighting before his tenure. [1]

The Major and the garden

James “The Major” Grant was born in 1847 and took over Glen Grant in 1872. Accounts differ on his precise relationship to John Grant: Wikipedia says he inherited from his uncle, while Scotch Whisky describes him as John’s son. Both accounts connect him with the Grant family history, but the relationship should not be presented as settled without further evidence. [1, 2, 3]

The Major doubled the distillery’s size, according to the producer, and introduced tall, slender pot stills and water cooling purifiers. Those features matter to the character associated with Glen Grant. Tall still necks and purifiers encourage heavy reflux, so the whisky’s lightness should not be attributed to water alone. The wash stills’ “German helmet” shape is also reported to help keep the spirit clean. [1, 4]

His influence remains visible outside the distillery buildings. The Major created the Victorian Garden in 1886, and it now covers 22 acres. It includes his original dram pavilion. The Himalayan Blue Poppy grows in the garden and also appears on the bottle, giving the garden a place in the distillery’s presentation as well as its history. Visitors can see the garden alongside the visitor centre. [1, 2]

Glen Grant No. 2

The Major’s expansion was not confined to the original distillery. Scotch Whisky dates the building of Glen Grant No. 2, across the road, to 1898. The fact sheet also records a competing date of 1897 attributed to Maltspedia, so the year is disputed. Glen Grant No. 2 closed in 1902, reopened as Caperdonich in 1965, closed again in 2002 and was later demolished. [2, 6]

The second distillery is part of the Glen Grant story, but its later name and closure help distinguish it from the original distillery in Rothes. The account also contains a claim about The Major owning the first motor car in the Highlands. Scotch Whisky describes that as a claim, rather than an established fact, so it is best treated as a legend rather than a confirmed first. [2]

The Major died in 1931 and was succeeded by his grandson Douglas Mackessack. The distillery subsequently went through mergers and changes of ownership. In 1952, it merged with George & J.G. Smith to form The Glenlivet & Glen Grant Distillers. Scotch Whisky dates a further merger with Hill Thomson & Co and Longmorn, forming The Glenlivet Distillers, to 1970. Wikipedia gives 1972 for that merger, so the date remains disputed. [2, 3]

Ownership and the stillhouse

The stillhouse changed substantially during the following years. Scotch Whisky records two new stills in 1973 and four more in 1977. The old stillhouse closed in 1983, leaving eight stills according to that account. This is a historical figure, not a reliable answer to the current count: sources conflict, with Forbes reporting four wash stills and four spirit stills, and Whisky Magazine reporting five of each. [2, 4, 5]

Seagram ownership is dated to either 1977 or 1978, depending on the source. Pernod Ricard took over Seagram’s whisky business in 2001. Campari subsequently bought Glen Grant, but the available accounts date the purchase to December 2005 or to 2006. The completion date is therefore unresolved. The current owner is Glen Grant Limited, part of Gruppo Campari. [2, 3]

Glen Grant’s relationship with Italy is older than Campari’s ownership. It was the best selling whisky in Italy in the 1960s, a distinction that included competition from blends as well as single malts. Italy remains its key market. That history is a useful context for the present ownership, without making the mistake of treating the Italian market’s importance as something that began with the Campari purchase. [2]

Making the whisky

The distillery draws water from private springs and the Black Burn. Its stated capacity is 6.2 million litres of pure alcohol. Production uses ten wooden washbacks, with a fermentation time of 48 hours. The malt is unpeated, at under one part per million. These details describe the production process reported for Glen Grant without resolving the conflicting reports of its current still count. [2]

The condensers are shell and tube, and the purifiers sit in the lyne arms. Together with the tall still necks, the purifiers encourage reflux, an important part of the explanation for the spirit’s light character. Water is one element of production, but it is not the sole explanation for that character. The stills and their associated equipment belong in the account too. [2, 4]

Most of the spirit now goes into former Bourbon and refill casks. Glen Grant should therefore not be described as a malt that has always been sherried. Sherry character is associated with Gordon & MacPhail bottlings, and individual releases can have their own maturation histories. One example is the Dennis Malcolm 60th Anniversary Edition, which was matured in a Sherry butt. [2, 5]

Dennis Malcolm and the present day

Dennis Malcolm’s connection to Glen Grant began early. He was born on the distillery grounds in 1946 and started a cooper’s apprenticeship there in 1961. His father and grandfather also worked at the distillery. His career took him to Glenlivet, which he managed from 1979, before he returned to Glen Grant as General Manager in 1983. [1, 4, 5]

Malcolm was appointed Master Distiller in 2006. In 2013, King Charles opened the new bottling hall. Greig Stables was appointed Master Distiller in 2024. These appointments and the bottling hall form part of the more recent story of a distillery whose documented past also includes the Grants’ railway interests, The Major’s garden and successive changes to the stillhouse. [1]

For visitors, the garden offers a direct connection to The Major’s period at Glen Grant, including the original dram pavilion. The visitor centre and garden are also reminders that the distillery’s history is not limited to equipment and ownership. The surviving garden, the producer’s account of its creation and the disputed details elsewhere in the historical record each need to be read on their own terms. [1, 2]

Sources

1. The Glen Grant (Campari), Our Story. Checked November 2026.
2. Scotch Whisky, Glen Grant. Checked November 2026.
3. Wikipedia, Glen Grant distillery. Checked November 2026.
4. Whisky Magazine, Glen Grant and the Italian Influence. Checked November 2026.
5. Forbes, The Glen Grant Honors Dennis Malcolm With Its Oldest Scotch Whisky Release. Checked November 2026.
6. Maltspedia, Glen Grant Distillery. Checked November 2026.