There are few businesses that can boast being built stone-by-stone by their founder, but that’s just one of Glenfiddich Distillery’s claims to fame.
In 1886, William Grant, former manager of the Mortlach Distillery, realised a long-held ambition to make his own dram.
He had no financial backing, but a lot of determination.
And as luck would have it, the owner of Cardhu Distillery, Elizabeth Cumming, decided to replace her stills.
For the sum of £120, William snapped up old copper stills, the tuns and watermill.
And in the spirit of Victorian innovation, William set about hand-building a distillery alongside his wife, nine children and a stonemason using stones from the River Fiddich.
William Grant built Glenfiddich to create ‘best dram in the valley’
William named the distillery ‘Glenfiddich’ derived from the Gaelic Gleann Fhiodhaich meaning Valley of the Deer.
He wanted to create “the best dram in the valley”, and remarkably achieved the seemingly impossible when his distillery came to fruition.
On Christmas Day in 1887 the first 223 gallons of the balanced and sweet whisky flowed from the distillery’s copper stills.
Pure water from the Robbie Dhu spring above Dufftown gave Grant’s malt whisky its unique taste.
It was not long before Aberdeen-based blender William Williams purchased Glenfiddich’s entire output becoming the sole supplier of the whisky.
When Glenfiddich expanded to establish its Balvenie distillery in the 1890s, much of its equipment was picked up second hand.
And even when the whisky production market in the north was saturated, and primary buyer Pattisons went bankrupt in the late 1890s, Glenfiddich survived.
Grants went against the grain during throes of prohibition
Ever-innovative, Grants adapted their business to supply retailers directly, taking Glenfiddich confidently into the 20th Century.
In spite of failing health, William Grant continued working into his twilight years, and died in 1923 aged 83.
By the time he died his blends were enjoyed across the world.
But when William Grant’s grandson, former teacher Gordon Grant, joined the firm in 1923 America was in the throes of prohibition.
During prohibition, the production and consumption of alcohol was banned by federal government.
However, like his forebears, Gordon took a different approach.
Rather than quell output, to the surprise of industry contemporaries, the Grants ramped up production.
Traditional ways continue at Glenfiddich today
When prohibition ended, Glenfiddich was one of only six operating distilleries and was poised to supply aged whisky to the US.
Into the 1950s, William Grant’s great-grandson Charles Gordon became involved in the family business.
Recognising the importance of its heritage, while looking to the future, Charles made the distillery self sufficient.
He introduced dedicated on-site coppersmiths in 1957 to maintain the distillery’s unique stills, and established the distillery’s own cooperage two years later.
To this day, Glenfiddich is one of only a handful of distilleries that still produces its own casks.
This investment in traditional, time-served practices went against the grain of other producers who were mechanising and modernising their ways.
But in a way, it rooted Glenfiddich in the golden age of whisky.
Glenfiddich broke the mould when it came to bottling in 1956
In 1956, the distiller even broke the mould when it came to bottles – literally – changing from the standard shape to a triangular one.
It was designed by Hans Schleger, a Polish-born graphic designer and leading light in Britain’s modernist movement.
Schleger was the man behind iconic imagery such as the London Transport bus stop sign and wartime propaganda posters.
The bottle was borne from a need to stand out against fierce competition from whisky conglomerate Distilling Company Limited, the precursor to Diageo.
Grant’s could not match DCL’s advertising budgets for brands like Johnnie Walker, but the unique triangular – or tround – bottle spoke for itself.
The shape was inspired by the trio of ingredients – water, air and malted barley – used in the production of Grant’s blends.
Modernist bottle captured zeitgeist of the era
Like a script from Mad Men, it was a masterstroke in PR. Posters, also designed by Schleger, popped up around Scotland before the launch.
Like some kind of riddle they depicted three colourful brushstrokes in a triangle shape with the words ‘Stand Fast by Grant’s’.
The grand reveal took place on November 14 1956 at London’s Savoy no less, with an audience that included William Grant’s youngest daughter Miss Grant of Balvenie – by then an octogenarian.
The radical triangular bottle received plaudits from industry insiders and the press alike.
National newspapers carried the story the following day, with The Scotsman concluding: “It is long-shaped and pleasant to hold. The hand closes round it – which is comforting to the person pouring – and it is elegant to look at.”
Businessmen liked that the slim bottle slid neatly into briefcases, while hoteliers could stack it easily in cellars.
Glenfiddich broke into America with rebranded single malt success
But the bottle would also prove a secret weapon in breaking Scotch into the American market.
In 1961, Grant’s relaunched Glenfiddich single malt in a green version of the triangular bottle and labelled it ‘straight malt’.
With global audiences accustomed to blends, Glenfiddich was said to be the first single malt advertised outside of Scotland in 1963.
The same year, under threat of a grain shortage, Glenfiddich established the most sophisticated grain distillery in Europe at Girven to guarantee its supply.
By the 1970s the appetite for single malt was growing universally and whisky production in Scotland boomed.
But with the rise inevitably came the fall, and while some may argue you can never have too much whisky, like Wall Street in the 1930s it all came crashing down.
Many distilleries closed during ‘the whisky loch’ in the 1980s
In the late ’70s the UK economy was hit with high inflation and low growth, suddenly there was a glut of whisky and nobody buying it.
It was described as ‘the whisky loch’, there was so much excess whisky it could have filled a loch.
In attempts to stabilise an industry in turmoil, many distilleries which opened during the golden era closed in the early 1980s.
Grants were already ahead of the curve, recognising the potential of whisky as a tourist attraction, they opened Glenfiddich’s visitor centre in July 1969.
Previously it had “an open invitation” to all visitors to unofficially see its distilleries.
The Press and Journal reported how an old part of the distillery building had been converted into an official visitor reception area.
Visitor centre and clever campaigned buoyed Glenfiddich in tricky times
Maintaining the link with the past, the centre was in part of the building built by William Grant back in 1886.
One of the directors, Alexander Grant Gordon said it was “one of the most important ways of developing our business”.
It was a wise move, because while others floundered in the whisky loch, Grants steamed ahead.
Advertising campaigns, clever product placement on television and a commitment to its single malt brand also helped buoy the brand through turbulent times and into its centenary.
In a nod to the past, Glenfiddich marked its 100th anniversary in 1987 with a special limited-edition batch bottled on Christmas Day in 1986.
‘The craftsman always has the last word’
Even now, Glenfiddich’s heritage is part of its blend; the stills in Stillhouse Two are the same size and shape of those used back in 1886 and remain direct fired.
Despite increased demand, the distillery resisted increasing the size of its original stills to ensure the original flavour was retained. Instead it just added more stills.
In 1992, when asked what makes Glenfiddich unique, the distillery replied: “The craftsman and not the accountant always has the last word at Glenfiddich.”
Now, Glenfiddich remains entirely owned by the fifth generation of the Grant family – descendants of the enterprising and unwavering William.
And while William only sought to create the best dram in the valley, he created the best-selling single malt in the world.
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