Grant’s Has Shaken And Stirred Its Core Line-Up

By Richard Thomas

Back in July, Grant’s Blended Scotch Whisky gave its line-up a top to bottom shake up, compete with new expressions, discontinued expressions and a new look. Most of our readers ought to be familiar with the brand, because even among the Americans I know folks who consider their cheap, super-sized bottle of Grant’s at Trader Joe’s a staple buy. Even so, some might ask “OK, they revamped things; why should I care?”

Grant’s is the core brand for William Grant & Sons, and these are the guys who own The Glenfiddich and The Balvenie, and make Monkey Shoulder. If you don’t care about Scotch at all, they also own the seminal American craft distiller Tuthilltown and just introduced the sourced Fistful of Bourbon. If you have a taste for Irish Whiskey, they own Tullamore Dew.

So William Grant & Sons is a big deal in the business, and Grant’s is their biggest deal. It’s ranked third for Scotch Whisky sales, behind only Ballantine’s and Johnnie Walker. Shipping the 4.5 million cases needed to achieve that status makes the brand equal to Jim Beam. * Imagine if Beam Suntory roared through everything they sold with the name “Beam” on it, leaving nothing untouched.

What used to be Grant’s Family Reserve, the entry-level and flagship expression, is now Grant’s Triple Wood. The whisky in the bottle remains unchanged, however, making that one of the least radical changes in the line-up. Bulletin to all those Americans who shop at Trader Joe’s: your favorite whisky buy will have a different name and look soon, but don’t be alarmed. It’s the same thing.

The new faces in the line-up are Grant’s Triple Wood Smoky, a peatier spin on the standard Grant’s and presumably akin to Black Grouse and Johnnie Walker Double Black; Grant’s Rum Cask Finish; and Grant’s 8 Year Old Sherry Cask Finish.

Biting the dust are Grant’s Signature, Grant’s Sherry Cask Finish, Grant’s Ale Cask and Grant’s 12 Year Old, along with regional expressions like Master Blender’s Edition and Nordic Oak Finish. Items like 18 Year Old and 25 Year Old were quasi-limited editions in the first place, and not part of the regular release line-up.

Renaming the flagship Grant’s draws more attention to what goes into the blend, a mix of whiskies aged in new American white oak, first-fill ex-bourbon barrels and more used American oak. The introduction of the smokier version and the Sherry cask finish with an age statement are both no brainers, focusing on two of the key flavor profiles beloved among Scotch drinkers.

Grant’s already had a Sherry cask finish expression, but now they have added an age statement to it while keeping the price affordable. I suspect the introduction of a rum cask finish might be tied to the popularity of what The Balvenie has been doing along the same lines, but that is pure speculation. Overall, the line-up is now smaller and much tighter.

* Incidentally, Grant’s stablemate The Glenfiddich is once again the best-selling single malt brand in the world, shipping well over 1 million cases.