Glen Grant distillery

Glen Grant is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Rothes, Moray, on the edge of Speyside. The River Spey flows past its walls and the barley fields lie close by, giving the site all it needs for whisky making. Founded in 1840 by John and James Grant, it began life as a legal business after years of smuggling. The distillery still uses the same water and malt that the brothers chose. Today it belongs to Campari Group, who bought it in 2005. The place is famous for its bold innovations under James ‘The Major’ Grant. He introduced electric lighting long before most Highland sites and was the first to own a car in the region. The tall, slender stills and purifiers he installed give Glen Grant its fresh malty flavour and clear colour. His grandson Douglas Mackessack later guided the distillery through its merger with Glenlivet in 1972. Now it is one of the biggest-selling single malts in Italy and across the world. Visitors walk through the working distillery and warehouse on Scotland’s Malt Whisky Trail. The stillhouse and mash house show how malt is turned into spirit. The warehouse stores casks where the whisky ages in oak. Outside, Rothes offers views over the barley plains and the distant hills. The site keeps the same ingredients and spirit of invention that the Grant brothers began with.