When completed, the purchase will bring three single malt scotch whisky brands into Brown-Forman’s growing whiskey portfolio: The GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh.
The company says the purchase will include brand trademarks, three malt distilleries, a bottling plant, and the company’s headquarters in Edinburgh, Scotland. The BenRiach Distillery Company, which has a workforce of 165 employees including 55 seasonal and casual workers, will operate as a subsidiary of Brown-Forman.
Brown-Forman CEO Paul Varga said: “The acquisition of these super premium brands will allow Brown-Forman to re-enter one of our industry’s most exciting and consistent growth segments, single malt scotch whisky. The Glendronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh single malt brands are rich in history and we believe they will continue to prosper and grow in our hands.”
Varga noted that Brown-Forman previously was a minority shareholder of Glenmorangie plc and marketed Glenmorangie in the US and Canada from 1992 to 2005 and in continental Europe and certain Asian markets from 2000 to 2005. Brown-Forman sold its part of Glenmorangie’s sale to Moet Hennessy in 2005.
Billy Walker, managing director of The BenRiach Distillery Company Limited said: “Our team have energised these distilleries and engaged creatively and successfully with the premium end of the market. We are very confident that Brown-Forman will take The GlenDronach, BenRiach, and Glenglassaugh brands to the next level and fulfill their full potential, and prove to be worthy custodians of these historic distilleries.”
The GlenDronach distillery, located in the hills of the Scottish Highlands, was founded in 1826. GlenDronach produces a range of ultra-premium single malt whiskies and is most noted for its sherried whiskies.
Located in the heart of Speyside, The BenRiach distillery began making malt whisky in 1898 and is known for experimenting with wood finishes producing whisky from both non-peated and peated malted barley.
The Glenglassaugh distillery, founded in 1875, is located on the coast in the northern Scottish Highlands overlooking the North Sea producing a coastal Highland malt.
