William Grant & Sons buys Drambuie

 William Grant & Sons has acquired the Drambuie Liqueur Company Limited which owns the Drambuie whisky liqueur brand.

The independent family-owned distiller, which also owns The Balvenie and Glenfiddich malt whiskies and Hendrick’s Gin, announced the acquisition this morning for an undisclosed figure after months of speculation.

William Grant & Sons’ chief executive, Stella David, said: “We have a passion and a reputation for nurturing and building brands. Drambuie is a natural fit for our portfolio, it has a very rich history and a great story to tell and we are delighted to be in a position to start to re-engage with existing drinkers and to connect the brand with an entirely new generation of consumers.”

A blend of aged Scotch whisky, spices and heather honey, Drambuie has a history dating back to 1745 and rose prominence as the key ingredient of the Rusty Nail cocktail – favoured by the Rat Pack in the 1950s.

Drambuie’s CEO, Michael Kennedy said Drambuie was set to benefit from being part of a “larger more diverse” organisation which would help Drambuie to “truly achieve its potential”.

The acquisition comes days after William Grant & Sons announced a record turnover of £1.12 billion growing by 5.2% and operating profit totalling £138million – a 10.6% rise in the year before.

A family spokesperson for William Grant & Sons said: “We have always been secret admirers of Drambuie. We are very grateful to the MacKinnon family for entrusting the future of this iconic brand to our family, and we will do our best to make them proud in the decades ahead.”