Glen Grant distillery

Glen Grant is a Speyside distillery in Rothes, about 10 miles south of Elgin. Previously owned by Chivas Brothers Ltd, Glen Grant is perhaps better known via the Chivas Regal blended scotch. Since 2005 it has been part of the Italian Campary group and has been acquiring a reputation for clear coloured, fresh and light single malt whiskies. The name derives from the family name of the Grants and the Scottish word for valley ‘Glen’. Accordingly, Glen Grant means ‘Valley of the Grants’.

Recommendations

High-quality Glen Grant whiskey may not be as widely available or as ranging as its competition, but it has a lot to offer both connoisseurs and beginners. Independent bottlers like Gordon & MacPhail and Signatory offer relatively plentiful releases of the speyside malt and are always worth trying. The distilleries core range is also worth exploring, in particular:

Glen Grant 10 Year old Single Malt Scotch

This standard bottling from the distillery is matured in ex-bourbon barrels for a decade, and develops a sweet taste of pear and vanilla. The fine spicy and sweet aromas are reminiscent of garden fruits and butter scotch, nut and cereal flavors, while the soft and dry finish lasts for a long time. The entry bottle is pure enjoyment for beginners and connoisseur alike.

Glen Grant The Majors Reserve

The Majors Reserve single malt has intensely fruity aromas of lemons and apples with a subtle nut note. A hint of wood resonates and combines with full-bodied vanilla. The whisky is exceptionally sweet and fruity and has notes of wood and malt. Its finish is relatively short and is slightly nutty. The whisky is extremely versatile for preparing cocktails and long drinks.

Production

The water for the production comes from the Caperdonich Well and the Glen Grant Burn respectively. The distillery has a 12 t stainless steel mash tun, and ten Douglas fir wash backs (fermentation tanks, with a capacity of 19,916 litres each. Distillation is carried out in four wash stills (22,730 l each) and four spirit stills (11,547 l each). While the stills were originally fired with coal, they are now heated with steam.

History

The Glen Grant Distillery was founded in 1840 by John and James Grant, two brothers. Glen Grant follows the classic tradition of illicit distillation to legitimate distillery. The Grant brothers were successful smugglers and illicit distillers before they founded Glen Grant. As an interesting anecdote James Grant was a trained lawyer albeit with a law attitude to alcohol laws. The two not only went about their work with passion and increasing expertise, but were also known for their love of experimentation and their future-oriented thinking. Barely 20 years after the Grant whiskey distillery opened, it became the first Scottish distillery to feature electric light.

The family-run company retained its visionary thinking for a long time. James Grant died in 1872 and the distillery passed to his son Major James Grant. As ambitious as his father, he also became a pioneer of Scottish whiskey Scene and built a second distillery in close proximity and designed a special barrel for transporting the new make distillate. The distillery opposite the first building was initially known as Glen Grant No. 2 and completed in 1897. Five years later, it had to be closed - but only temporarily, because around half a century later it resumed production as the Caperdonich Distillery.

In the 1950s, George and JG Smith merged to create “The Glenlivet & Glen Grant Distillers”. Longmorn merged with the Glenlivet and Glen Grant Distilleries Ltd. and Hill, Thomson & Co. Ltd. to form The Glenlivet Distilleries Ltd in 1970. The new company was bought out in 1977 by the Chivas & Glenlivet Group (operating under the name of Seagram), which in turn were acquired by Pernod Ricard.

2006 marked another milestone in the history of the Glen Grant distillery, it was acquired by the Italian Campary group for 115 million euros. A year later, the range was completely redesigned and relaunched, The Glen Grant 15 years was launched as a limited single cask edition (single cask bottling). In the years that followed, further limited editions, including Cask Strength, were added.

Glen Grant factsheet

Can I tour Glen Grant?

Yes Glen Grant distillery is tourable. On Trip Advisor the distillery has been rated as excellent by 0 of tours to date. This gives Glen Grant an overall rating of