William Grant & Sons

William Grant & Sons was founded by William Grant, who built Glenfiddich distillery in Dufftown in 1887 with the help of his family. The company is still owned and run by his descendants, which makes it one of the largest independent family firms in Scotch whisky.

Unlike an independent bottler, it bottles whisky it makes itself. Its malt distilleries include Glenfiddich, Balvenie and Kininvie in Dufftown and Ailsa Bay on the Ayrshire coast, while Girvan, opened in 1963, makes grain whisky. Ladyburn, a malt distillery built at the Girvan site in the 1960s, ran only for about ten years and is long closed, so its rare casks now appear only occasionally.

The company matures its whisky in its own warehouses and bottles in Scotland. Ranges a buyer meets here include Grant's blended Scotch such as Grant's Triple Wood, the Aerstone single malts from Ailsa Bay (10 Year Old Sea Cask and Land Cask), and Girvan grain whiskies like The Patent Still 28 Year Old.

At the top end there are very old releases under the company name, including a 41 Year Old and single casks from its Private Cask Collection, such as a 40 Year Old 1974. These are rare bottlings aimed at collectors.