The history of the Clan Grant can be traced back to the 14th century when they migrated to Speyside – now the centre of the Scotch Whisky world – where they had been given land as reward for services to the king. Three brothers - Alexander, William and Daniel - fought in the 1745 rebellion of Jacobites against Hanoverian rule. They survived the Battle of Culloden but were then forced to flee and go into hiding. Importantly for us, Alexander Grant was hidden in Banffshire by one of the Grant clan chiefs. It was his great-grandson called William, born in Dufftown on 19th December 1839, who was the founder of the company.

William Grant had a challenging start to life. He was put to work at the age of seven, herding the family cattle in the hills. If it wasn’t for the influence of his remarkable schoolteacher John MacPherson, William may well have remained a simple herder or farmer, but his excellent schooling proved a stepping-stone on to greater things. Following time as an apprentice shoemaker and limeworks employee, in 1866 William Grant became a bookkeeper at a local distillery. He showed great talent for the whisky production process and soon became manager of the distillery.

For the twenty years he worked at the Mortlach distillery, William had a dream of building his own distillery, and making the ‘best dram’ in the business (‘dram’ is the traditional word for a measure of whisky). In 1886 his dream became a reality and William and his wife Elizabeth, along with their nine children – a ready-made work force, and sufficient raw material to begin a family business – brought together land, materials and machines, and brought the Glenfiddich distillery to life. The first spirit ran from the stills on Christmas Day in 1887.

In 1898 Pattison’s, the largest Scotch whisky blender in the business, suddenly went bankrupt. This created huge problems for the Scotch whisky industry. William Grant, however, saw it as an opportunity. Pattison’s – to whom William Grant sold his whisky – had badly misjudged the requirements of the whisky market. It had over-produced, creating a huge unsaleable surplus, and Pattison’s quickly went bankrupt. Following the ‘Pattison’s Crash’, many distillers sold up, packed up and moved on. Not William Grant. He chose to expand. Having learnt once and for all time about the merits of independence, he became blender, bottler and wholesaler in one.

This was when the Grant’s blend was born. William’s son-in-law Charles Gordon became the first Grant’s salesman – and despite taking 181 calls to make his first sale, and 503 calls to make the next – the whisky became a big success. And William’s son John Grant was the first exporter, selling the family whisky to the Hudson Bay Company of Canada.

William Grant was a big-hearted character, popular with local children, and later a respected member of the local community. He became a Church Elder and member of the Dufftown band. He is said to have played a mean cornet!

Grant’s has since then, for five generations, always remained an independent family distiller. It is still fully owned by the Grant-Gordon family, many of whom are directly involved in its running. Charles Gordon, great-grandson of the founder, is Chairman of the company, and other family members have seats on the Company board.

In 1957 Grant’s introduced the now famous triangular bottle. Though the Grant’s blend has always been an exceptionally smooth dram, its bottle was - at one time - quite ordinary. It was little different from the bottles of many of other blends. In 1957, just as sales of whisky were liberalised after 15 years of rationing caused by the Second World War, it was time to take advantage of this opportunity and to reinvent.

People often judge quality as much by their eyes as by their tastebuds, so it is vital to make a good first impression. This was where Hans Schleger stepped in. He was a pre-war refugee from Nazi Germany, working as a consultant with William Grant & Sons advertising agency of the time. He later went on to become one of the world’s leading designers, creating memorable work for many clients, including ICI, Penguin Books and London Transport.

The brief to our bottle designer Hans Schleger was to create a distinctive, elegant design that would highlight the wonderful colour of the whisky within. It also had to pack and stack efficiently. His intuitive response was the triangle, a shape that held much meaning for Grant’s. It was seen to symbolise the Scottish water, air and barley from which Grant’s Scotch whisky was made. Others saw the three sides as representing the tradition, heritage and quality of the blend.

Hans’ thinking however was much more practical. There was no triangular bottle on the market, and the triangle was, in many ways, a much better shape for a bottle than the circle – the hand naturally closed around it rather than opening up and weakening one’s hold. He first sculpted the shape out of clay, and then out of plaster. He worked towards the right size by using a classic method – that of water displacement. He placed the bottle model in a bucket full of water and measured the amount of water displaced. After a few attempts at this – Eureka! – he was there.

The deliciously complex taste and long smooth lingering finish of Grant’s Scotch Whisky is known and loved throughout the world. It is enjoyed by whisky drinkers in over 180 countries. It is the Master Blenders’ special recipe, a blend of the finest single malt and grain Scotch Whiskies – including the company's own Glenfiddich and The Balvenie Single Malt Scotch Whiskies and its renowned Girvan Grain Scotch whisky – that creates the magical taste of Grant’s. When blended together, the malts and grains produce the deliciously complex, long, smooth taste that is known and loved throughout the world.

Although the face of Grant’s – the bottle, label and advertising – may have changed a little over the years, the content of the bottle has not. It is at heart still the same whisky enjoyed by William Grant, and continues to receive excellent reviews from distinguished whisky writers and journalists around the world.

The Grant’s blend was born in the hardest of times for the Scotch whisky industry. Its survival and success is down to the vision, hard work and passion for whisky making of William Grant and his family. To this day Grant’s has retained this independent family spirit.