The Glenlivet Distilleries

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Founded

1970

Company type

Blender, Distiller

Parent company

The Glenlivet Distilleries is a dormant subsidiary of French multinational and drinks giant, Pernod Ricard. It was acquired through the acquisition of its parent company, Seagram Distillers, in 2001 and at the time its assets included the Glenlivet, Glen Grant, what was then known as Glen Grant 2, Benriach and Longmorn distilleries, and the blended Scotch brands of Hill, Thomson & Co.

Today these properties have been largely carved up, with Pernod Ricard retaining only Glenlivet, Longmorn and Hill, Thompson & Co. It also owns the Caperdonich brand despite demolishing the distillery in 2010, while Glen Grant and Benriach have new owners.

1970

Founded

History

In 1970, a new company was formed through the merger of The Glenlivet & Glen Grant Distilleries with Longmorn-Glenlivet and the Edinburgh-based blending outfit Hill, Thomson & Co. Originally trading under the name of the former, the company changed its name to The Glenlivet Distilleries in 1972.

Although significantly smaller than rivals like the Distillers Company Ltd and William Grant & Sons, the company had a reputation for quality in its favour and invested heavily following its inception, increasing production by over half and upgrading the Hill, Thomson & Co blending and bottling plant in Newbridge.

The company operated independently for only five years however, and was bought over by the ambitious Seagram Distillers in 1977. The new ownership also owned Chivas Brothers, giving it a substantial foothold in the Speyside region. As it progressed into the 1980s, it followed and reacted to the emerging popularity of single malt, eventually co-promoting brands from each subsidiary as part of the Heritage Collection in 1993, their response to United Distillers’ Classic Malts of Scotland.

Although their businesses were performing well, Seagram Distillers were crippled by their parent company’s failure to diversify into the entertainment sector and the Seagram empire collapsed in 2000. Seagram Distillers, along with Chivas Brothers and The Glenlivet Distilleries were then acquired by Pernod Ricard in 2001, who merged them with its Campbell Distillers to form a single spirits division under the Chivas Brothers banner.