Charles Gordon of William Grant and Sons Dies

Charles Gordon, the life president of liquor company William Grant and Sons and a major figure in the modern history of Scotch whisky, passed away yesterday in New York at the age of 86.

Gordon is the great grandson of the company namesake, William Grant, who founded his whisky business in the mid-19th Century. He is also named for his grandfather, the Charles Gordon who was William Grant’s son-in-law, and one of the two principal salesmen (along with John Grant) who helped build up the family firm into an international brand in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries.

Immersing himself in the family business, Gordon helped William Grant and sons through the difficult times of the 1960s and 1970s. His efforts helped repackage and market Glenfiddich, turning it into what would become the world’s top single malt. During the construction of William Grant and Sons distillery at Girvan, Gordon was so involved that he often lived at the building site in a trailer.

Today William Grant and Sons is headed by Gordon’s son Glenn. In addition to its whiskey brands — Glenfiddich, Grant’s, Balvenie, Tullamore Dew, and Monkey Shoulder — William Grant and Sons also owns Hendricks Gin, Sailor Jerry Rum, and a variety of other spirits brands, with more than £1 billion in sales.