Diageo

Although only established in 1997, Diageo is a company with deep roots, particularly when it comes to whisky. The drinks giant was formed by the merger of Grand Metropolitan and Guinness, who each brought some the oldest name in Scotch whisky to the table, including Justerini & Brooks and John Walker & Sons.

Although rebranded in 2002, the company’s spirits division was originally known as United Distillers and Vintners, combining Guinness’ United Distillers with Grand Metropolitan’s International Distillers and Vintners (IDV). United Distillers had been formed in 1987 through the merger of Arthur Bell & Sons with the historic Distillers Company Limited, and IDV dated back to the 1962 merger of W&A Gilbey and United Wine Traders. The latter had been acquired by Grand Metropolitan ten years later.

The  creation of Diageo was not without some issues however, and its sprawling new portfolio contravened several anti-monopoly laws, the most strict of which were in the US. The result of this was the company being ordered to divest a number of their brands. The highest-profile of these was John Dewar & Sons and its associated Aberfeldy, Craigellachie and Royal Brackla distilleries, which they sold to Bacardi alongside the Bombay gin brand in 1998 for $1.9bn.

Despite this, the influence of Diageo in the whisky world has only increased. Its continued marketing of the Classic Malts and Flora & Fauna single malt series were further supplemented in 2002 with relaunched brands for Clynelish, Caol Ila and Glen Elgin, with The Singleton and Mortlach following in 2006 and 2014, respectively. Diageo has also revived the interest of its predecessor, United Distillers, in the American whiskey industry, introducing the collectable Orphan Barrel brand in 2013 and opening the Lebanon distillery in Kentucky in 2021 to produce its Bulleit bourbon and rye. In the same year, it also broke ground on construction of a Chinese single malt facility in the Yunnan Province. Diageo also renewed its presence in Irish whiskey in 2019 with the opening of the Roe & Co distillery in Dublin. The company had previously experimented with ownership of Bushmills, but had sold it to Casa Cuervo in 2014 after less than ten years, preferring the Don Julio tequila brand that was part of the deal.

The company’s commitment to the Scotch industry remains on a grand scale, and it has invested huge sums in whisky tourism. By 2020 it had committed to upgrading fifteen distillery visitor centres across Scotland, and the same year saw both the landmark re-awakening of sleeping giant, Brora, and the opening of their pioneering £150m visitor experience in Edinburgh, Johnnie Walker Princes Street.