The Edrington Group Limited,[1] trading as Edrington, is a privately owned international spirits company based in Glasgow, Scotland.[2] It produces single malts such as The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes, Naked Malt, and The Famous Grouse blended Scotch whisky. The spirits portfolio also includes Noble Oak Bourbon of Independence, Kentucky, and Brugal, the leading golden rum in the Caribbean. It also owns shares in Wyoming Whiskey, an American whiskey made in Kirby, Wyoming, and No. 3 London Dry Gin.[3]
Based in Glasgow, it employs approximately 2,500 people in its wholly owned and joint venture businesses around the world. Approximately 1,000 employees are based in Scotland.
History
1861: founding of Robertson & Baxter
William A. Robertson began in business in Glasgow in 1850, forming Robertson & Baxter[4] in 1861. In 1885 the company took a share holding in the North British Distillery Company. In 1887 the company became part of a group that founded Highland Distilllers, with William Robertson as its first chairman. When William Roberstson died in 1893, his oldest son, James, became chairman.
1961: creation of Edrington and The Robertson Trust
The Robertson sisters (Elspeth, Agnes and Ethel) inherited the Scotch whisky interests founded and developed by their grandfather and father. Keen to ensure the independence of the company, the welfare of its employees and to continue their tradition of supporting good causes in Scotland, in 1961 the sisters created The Edrington Group[5] (named after their home in the Scottish Borders) to hold their business interests.[6] At the same time, they also established The Robertson Trust, a registered charity under Scottish law, which owns all voting shares in Edrington. The Robertson Trust is now Scotland's largest independent grant making charitable trust, and is funded by the dividend income of its shares in Edrington.[7] By 2022, the Trust had donated more than £322 million to charities in Scotland since its inception and given financial support to young people from deprived backgrounds who are attending higher education.
In 1999 Edrington acquired Highland Distillers through a partnership with William Grant & Sons taking a minority interest (the 1887 Company).[8]
In February 2008 the company bought a majority shareholding in Brugal of the Dominican Republic, the leading golden rum in the Caribbean.[10]
In April 2010 Edrington acquired Cutty Sark blended Scotch whisky brand from long-standing trading partner Berry Bros. & Rudd.[11]
In 2014 Edrington moved its Asia headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore and created a new regional hub for Asia – Edrington Asia Pacific.[citation needed]
In April 2014, Edrington ended its relationship with Rémy Cointreau in the United States, and created its own distribution company – Edrington Americas.[12]
In 2015, Edrington Global Travel Retail was created. It is based in the company's Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore.[13]
In 2016 Edrington acquired a minority stake in Tequila Partida. It sold its stake to Lucas Bols in 2021.[14]
In 2018 Edrington Americas took a minority stake in Wyoming Whiskey, an American whiskey.[15]
In April 2023 Edrington increased its shareholding of Wyoming Whisky to 80%, making it a majority stakeholder.[18] In September 2023, Edrington acquired Vasyma, a Jerez-based cooperage business.[19]
Scotch whisky, often simply called whisky or Scotch, is malt whisky or grain whisky made in Scotland.
Speyside single malts are single malt Scotch whiskies, distilled in Strathspey, the area around the River Spey in Moray and Badenoch and Strathspey, in northeastern Scotland.
Highland Park distillery is an Island single malt Scotch whisky distillery located in Kirkwall on the Orkney Islands, Scotland.
Diageo plc is a British multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits. Distilleries owned by Diageo produce 40 percent of all Scotch whisky with over 24 brands, such as Johnnie Walker, J&B and Old Parr.
Pernod Ricard is a French company best known for its anise-flavoured pastis apéritifs Pernod Anise and Ricard Pastis. The world's second-largest wine and spirits seller, it also produces several other types of pastis.
The Macallan distillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Craigellachie in Moray in the north-east of Scotland. The Macallan Distillers Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Edrington, which purchased the brand from Highland Distillers in 1999.
The Famous Grouse is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced by The Edrington Group in Scotland. It was first produced by Matthew Gloag & Son in 1896. The single malt whiskies used in The Famous Grouse blend include the Edrington-owned Highland Park and The Macallan. Its emblem is the red grouse, Scotland's national game bird.
William Grant & Sons Ltd is an independent, family-owned Scottish company that distills Scotch whisky and other selected categories of spirits. It was established in 1887 by William Grant, and is run by Grant's descendants as of 2018. It is the largest of the handful of Scotch whisky distillers remaining in family ownership.
Cutty Sark is a brand of blended Scotch whisky produced by La Martiniquaise in Scotland.
A master blender is an individual who develops specific blended spirits using a combination of spirits with different characteristics. For example, in the Scotch whisky industry, master blenders choose which single malts and grain whiskies to combine to make particular brands of blended whisky. A master blender is not the same thing as a master distiller, although one person may do both jobs at small craft distilleries. As the name suggests, the blender creates blends using spirits from different casks and is responsible for making sure the product remains consistent across different batches, while the distiller is either directly responsible for the mashing and distilling of spirits or simply holds the title as the administrative and marketing figurehead of the company.
Highland Distillers was a scotch whisky distillery operator and blender in Scotland.
The Glenrothesdistillery is a Speyside single malt Scotch whisky distillery. The Glenrothes distillery is located in the town of Rothes in the heart of the Speyside region of Scotland. The distillery sits beside the Burn of Rothes, hidden in a glen on the edge of the town.
As of 2006 most distilled spirits labelled as "whisky" in India were a form of Indian-made foreign liquor, commonly blends based on neutral spirits that are distilled from fermented molasses with only a small portion consisting of traditional malt whisky, usually about 10 to 12 percent. Outside India, such a drink would more likely be labelled a rum. According to the Scotch Whisky Association's 2013 annual report, unlike in the European Union (EU), "there is no compulsory definition of whisky in India, and the Indian voluntary standard does not require whisky to be distilled from cereals or to be matured. Very little Indian 'whisky' qualifies as whisky in the EU owing to the use of molasses or neutral alcohol, limited maturation and the use of flavourings. Such spirits are, of course, considerably cheaper to produce than genuine whisky." Such molasses-based blends made up 90 percent of the spirits consumed as "whisky" in India in 2004, although whisky wholly distilled from malt and other grains, was also manufactured and sold. By 2004 shortages of wheat had been overcome and India was one of the largest producers. Amrut, the first single malt whisky produced in India, was launched in Glasgow, Scotland in 2004. After expanding in Europe it was launched in India in 2010.
Glenglassaugh distillery is a malt scotch whisky distillery which restarted production in November 2008 after being acquired by an independent investment group. Following a complete refurbishment by the new owners the distillery was re-opened on 24 November 2008 by then First Minister for Scotland Alex Salmond.
Tamdhu distillery is a single malt Scotch Speyside whisky distillery, located in the village of Knockando in Banffshire, Scotland. Tamdhu comes from Gaelic for "little dark hill".
La Martiniquaise is France's second-largest spirits group.
Arbikie Distilling Limited, trading as Arbikie Distillery, is a scotch whisky, vodka and gin distillery in Inverkeilor, Angus, Scotland.
The John Macphail Scholarship is an annual rugby union scholarship award in Scotland. It was first given to talented young players; and was later the scholarship also extended to coaches seeking development. The scholarship is named after the former Scotland international rugby union player John Macphail, who died in 2004. The scholarship is a 5 month immersive rugby union programme abroad. Previously award winners have gone to New Zealand, recent award winners now go to South Africa for the programme.
Ian Macleod Distillers Ltd. is an independent, family-owned business which produces Scotch whisky and other spirits, based in Broxburn, Scotland. It was founded by Leonard Russell, Snr. in 1933. They own three single malt whisky distilleries: Glengoyne distillery, Tamdhu distillery, and Rosebank distillery and one gin distillery: Edinburgh Gin. They also produce a number of other distilled spirits including Smokehead Islay whisky.
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