Collection: Glen Grant Distillery

A light whisky with a floral taste

History

Founded in 1840, Glen Grant was one of the first licensed distilleries in the Scottish Highlands. The brothers John and James Grant found the perfect setting, close to excellent sources of fine Morayshire barley and supplied by soft Highland spring water.

Major James Grant inherited the business from his father in 1872, and by the turn of the century the distillery could boast refrigeration, electric lighting, a hydraulic warehouse lift, and its own fire service. Celebrated in the press for his journeys into the wildcmesscs of India and South Africa, the Major also indulged a typically Victorian taste for fashionable new plant species, creating a romantic woodland garden. Here he would reward his guests for an uphill walk with a dram of Glen Grant from his private bottle hidden in his whisky safe.

Glen Grant has been sold as a bottled single malt since the first decade of this century. It was well known in Scotland long before pioneers like Glenfiddich began to open up the English and international markets. Glen Grant is among the world's biggest-selling malts but much of its sale is in the younger ages, in the important Italian market.

The distillery is set round a small courtyard and has a delightful Victorian garden originally created by Major Grant. Some of the original buildings remain with their coal-fired stills. The distillery produces a light floral malt whisky. Glen Grant is now owned by Gruppo Campari.