Edrington (legally The Edrington Group Ltd.) is a privately owned international spirits company based in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

, Scotland. It produces single malts The Macallan, Highland Park,

The Glenrothes The Glenrothes distillery 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 g ...

, Naked Malt and The Famous Grouse blended

Scotch whisky Scotch whisky (; sco, Scots whisky/whiskie, whusk(e)y; often simply called whisky or Scotch) is malt whisky or grain whisky (or a blend of the two), made in Scotland. All Scotch whisky was originally made from malted barley. Commercial dist ...

. The spirits portfolio also includes Noble Oak Bourbon of Independence,

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, and

Brugal Brugal is the name and brand of a variety of rums from the Dominican Republic produced by Brugal & Co., C. por A. Brugal and the other Dominican rums, Barceló and Bermúdez, are collectively known as the three B's. Brugal has three distilleri ...

, 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. Based in

, it employs approximately 2,500 people in its wholly owned and joint venture businesses around the world. Approximately 1000 employees are based in Scotland. Approximately 60% of the workforce is outside Scotland.

History

1861: Founding of Robertson & Baxter William A. Robertson began in business in the city of

in 1850, forming Robertson & Baxter in 1861. In 1885 the company took a share holding in the

North British Distillery Company The North British Distillery is a grain whisky distillery located in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Established by a group of independent distillers in 1885, it is now a joint venture company between Diageo and Edrington Group. It is Edi ...

. In 1887 the company became part of a group that founded Highland Distilllers, with William Robertson serving 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 (named after a farm near their home in the Scottish Borders) to hold their business interests. At the same time, they also established The Robertson Trust, a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

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. 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. Business interests In 1999 Edrington acquired Highland Distillieres through a partnership with William Grant & Sons taking a minority interest (the 1887 Company). In the

New Year Honours 2008 The New Year Honours 2008 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 29 December 2007, to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 2008. The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and ...

, former chairman, John James Griffin Good, was made a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are t ...

"for services to Scotland". Since 2008, Edrington has increased the international nature of its business through the acquisition of brands and sales and distribution companies in key markets. Its brands are distributed across the world by a network of wholly owned companies, joint venture companies and third party distributors. * In February 2008 the company bought a majority shareholding in

of the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares with ...

, the leading golden rum in the Caribbean. * In April 2010 Edrington acquired

Cutty Sark ''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period o ...

blended Scotch whisky brand from long-standing trading partner Berry Bros. & Rudd. Edrington sold Cutty Sark to La Martiniquaise, a privately owned spirits company based in France, in 2018. * In 2014 Edrington moved its Asia headquarters from Hong Kong to Singapore and created a new regional hub for Asia – Edrington Asia Pacific. * In April 2014, Edrington ended its relationship with Rémy Cointreau in the United States, and created its own distribution company – Edrington Americas * Edrington Global Travel Retail was created in 2015. It is based in the company's Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore. * In 2016 Edrington acquired a minority stake in Tequila Partida. It sold its stake to Lucas Bols in 2021. * In 2018 Edrington Americas took a minority stake in Wyoming Whiskey, an American whiskey. * In March 2019 Edrington sold 95% of the Glenturret distillery to the Swiss Lalique Group with private investors holding the remaining shares.

Brands

* The Macallan single malt Scotch Whisky * Highland Park single malt Scotch Whisky *

single malt Scotch Whisky * The Famous Grouse blended Scotch Whisky *Naked Malt blended malt Scotch Whisky *

1888 rum *No.3 London Dry Gin (via partnership with Berry Bros. & Rudd) *Wyoming Whiskey (Edrington Americas) *Noble Oak (Edrington Americas)

References

External links

Edrington website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edrington Companies established in 1861 Manufacturing companies based in Glasgow Food and drink companies based in Glasgow Drink companies of Scotland 1865 establishments in Scotland Drumchapel Malt whisky