Pernod Ricard

In 1975 it bought S. Campbell & Son, a Glasgow blender that made Clan Campbell and had owned the Aberlour distillery since 1945.^4,6,7 Pernod Ricard said its first purchases gave priority to whisky and to the United States, the world's biggest wine and spirits market.^2,4,6 From 1978 Patrick Ricard, son of Paul Ricard, led the group as chairman and chief executive and began a drive to buy brands.^2,3,8 In 1981 it bought the US firm Austin Nichols and its Wild Turkey bourbon, the group's first foothold in North America.^2,4,9 In 1982 its Campbell business, which took the name Campbell Distillers in 1988, bought the Edradour distillery.^7,10 In 1988 it bought Irish Distillers, owner of Jameson, Bushmills, Paddy and Powers, as a friendly buyer after a hostile takeover attempt by Grand Metropolitan, Allied-Lyons and Guinness.^1,2,4 In 1989 it bought the GlenAllachie distillery from Invergordon Distillers and added it to Campbell Distillers.⁷

The 2001 deal doubled its size and brought 38% of Seagram's drinks business, including Chivas Brothers, its 13 Scotch malt distilleries and India's Royal Stag.^1,3,4 In 2002 it sold Edradour to the Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Company.¹⁰ In 2004 Chivas Brothers sold the BenRiach distillery to a partnership that included master blender Billy Walker.¹¹ The Allied Domecq deal closed on 26 July 2005, adding the Miltonduff distillery and J.P. Wiser's, and overlapping brands went to Fortune Brands and Diageo.^1,4,5 In 2005 it also sold Bushmills to Diageo; The Irish Times said the sale took Diageo out of the race for Allied Domecq.^4,12,13 Pernod Ricard said such sales helped it pay down the debt from its purchases faster.^4,12,13 In December 2005 it agreed to sell The Glen Grant distillery, with the Old Smuggler and Braemar blends, to Campari, as the European Commission required after the Allied Domecq deal.^14,15

In 2008 Chivas Brothers sold The GlenDronach, which it had taken over in 2006, to the BenRiach Distillery Company.^11,16 In 2009 it sold the Wild Turkey distillery and brand to Campari, after borrowing heavily to buy the maker of Absolut vodka.^9,17 Alexandre Ricard, made deputy chief executive in 2012 after Patrick Ricard's sudden death, became chairman and chief executive on 11 February 2015, when Pierre Pringuet retired.^2,18 Also in 2015, Chivas Brothers opened the Dalmunach distillery, built for the Chivas Regal blends, on part of the old Imperial distillery site.^19,20 In 2016 Irish Distillers sold the Paddy Irish whiskey brand to Sazerac, with Paddy still to be made at Midleton Distillery.¹² On 12 July 2017 it agreed to sell the GlenAllachie distillery, with the White Heather and MacNair's blends, to Billy Walker, Graham Stevenson and Trisha Savage.²¹