William Grant & Sons Acquires Famous Grouse Blended Scotch From Edrington

William Grant & Sons, owner of famed single malt scotch Glenfiddich and Balvenie, Monkey Shoulder blended malt, and blended scotch Grant’s, will now add blended scotch Famous Grouse and its sister brand, blended malt Naked Malt, to the portfolio. Both are being acquired from Edrington, owners of Macallan and Highland Park. The price wasn’t disclosed, and the deal is subject to regulatory approval.

Famous Grouse was once considered among the top blended scotches by whisky lovers and still lays claim to being the most popular scotch whisky brand in Scotland. It’s well known for its picturesque label showing a grouse standing in the Scottish Highlands, a label image that has essentially remained unchanged for the core brand since its founding in 1896. Famous Grouse and Naked have fared reasonably well in Whisky Advocate tastings, with scores hovering at around 88-89 points.

According to Whisky Advocate’s sister research unit Impact Databank, Famous Grouse is the eighth-largest blended scotch brand worldwide at 2.78 million cases. It’s the seventh-largest blend in the U.S. at about 112,000 cases (1.3 million bottles). The Naked blended malt is small, with global volume of 53,000 cases (636,000 bottles).

With this deal, Edrington exits the blended scotch category, having sold Cutty Sark to French drinks company La Martiniquaise back in 2018. Edrington CEO Scott McCroskie said the divestiture is “driven by our strategy to focus on our core strengths and the growth opportunities in the ultra-premium spirits category. We consider this the right moment for Edrington to exit the blended scotch category and focus on our core portfolio of ultra-premium spirit brands.” The Macallan drove Edrington's sales up 11% to £1.2 billion ($1.5b) in its fiscal year through March. Profit before tax increased 6% to £411 million ($521m).