Edrington

Robertson & Baxter was a broker, a middleman that dealt in whisky between distilleries and blenders.^1,2,4 In 1885 it took a shareholding in the North British Distillery Company.² In 1887 it helped found Highland Distillers, with William Robertson as first chairman and Robertson & Baxter as sole agent for its whiskies.^1,2,4 By 1922 partners' children outside the industry wanted to free the money tied up in the firm, and it was wound up, its stocks sold.⁴ James and Alexander Robertson formed Robertson & Co. to buy its remaining assets and the Robertson & Baxter name, which took until 1937.⁴ In 1936 Robertson & Baxter became the sole supplier of whisky for Cutty Sark, a blend owned by Berry Bros & Rudd.^8,9 After James died in 1946, his daughters Agnes, Elspeth and Ethel became the owners, and Ethel, known as Babs, headed the business.^3,9 In 1948 Highland Distillers bought a large stake in Robertson & Baxter, which locked the two firms together against takeovers.^4,9,10 In 1961 the sisters put their business interests into Edrington and gave their shares to The Robertson Trust.^1,2,3

In 1965 Robertson & Baxter bought Lang Brothers, which owned the Glengoyne distillery.⁴ After Hiram Walker tried to take over Highland Distillers, Robertson & Baxter built up a 27 percent stake in it in 1979.⁹ Ian Good became Edrington's chief executive in 1989.¹¹ In 1993 Edrington and Grand Metropolitan set up Lothian Distillers, a company they owned half each, to buy the North British grain distillery in Edinburgh.^4,12 North British was set up in 1885 to provide grain spirit for blending, and Diageo, formed partly from Grand Metropolitan, now holds the other half.^4,12 In 1996 Edrington brought Robertson & Baxter, the Clyde Bonding Company and the Clyde Cooperage Company together under the Edrington Group name.⁴ The same year Highland Distillers bought a majority interest in The Macallan.^5,13 In 1999 Edrington, then owner of 27.9% of Highland Distillers, bought it with William Grant & Sons, taking 70% and adding The Glenrothes, Glenturret and The Famous Grouse.^1,2,5

In 2003 Edrington sold Bunnahabhain and the Black Bottle blend to Burn Stewart Distillers for £10 million.¹⁴ The same year it sold Glengoyne to Ian Macleod Distillers.¹⁵ Ian Curle followed Ian Good as chief executive in 2004, under a plan for Good to become executive chairman.^11,16 In 2008 Edrington sold Glenglassaugh, shut since 1986, to Scaent Group, which restarted it.^17,18 In 2010 it bought Cutty Sark from Berry Bros & Rudd and gave it The Glenrothes brand, but kept the distillery.^2,13,19 Edrington closed Tamdhu in April 2010.²⁰ In June 2011 it sold Tamdhu to Ian Macleod Distillers, and Curle said the sale let it focus on its key brands.^15,20

In 2017 Edrington bought The Glenrothes brand back, reuniting it with its distillery.^1,13,19 In 2018 it opened a new distillery for The Macallan, designed by the architects Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners.^1,21 The same year it took a 35% stake in Wyoming Whiskey, made in Kirby, Wyoming.^2,22 It sold the Cutty Sark blend to La Martiniquaise-Bardinet in 2018.^2,23,24 In March 2019 it sold Glenturret to a group led by Lalique owner Silvio Denz, but kept The Famous Grouse.^2,23 Scott McCroskie, who had led The Macallan, followed Ian Curle as chief executive in 2019.^16,25 In 2020 Suntory, a shareholder in The Macallan since the early 1990s, bought 10 per cent of Edrington, and the deal gave money to The Robertson Trust.^1,26 In April 2023 Edrington raised its stake in Wyoming Whiskey to 80%.^2,22 In September 2023 it bought Vasyma, a cask maker in Jerez, Spain, that had supplied casks to The Macallan for more than 30 years.^2,27 Angus Cockburn took over as chair from Crawford Gillies in 2025.^21,25 On 1 July 2025 Edrington sold The Famous Grouse and Naked Malt to William Grant & Sons.^2,6,7