William Grant, founder of William Grant & Sons Ltd, was a man of vision and foresight. His determination to distil the “best dram in the valley” has proved to be an enduring legacy to his descendants who, five generations later, continue to run the company and adhere to his high standards of quality and craftsmanship.

An independent, family-owned business since its inception in 1887, the company has the flexibility and freedom to plan for the long term and continue to produce world-class Scotch whiskies to the highest standards. The company’s award-winning success and international acclaim is testament to its commitment to quality and the dedication of its talented team of craftsmen who are the inspiration behind Grant’s Scotch Whisky. Today Grant’s Family Reserve is one of the world’s most recognisable and best-loved Scotch whiskies, and is enjoyed in over 180 countries worldwide.

The story behind the triangular bottle

Although the Grant’s blend has always been an exceptionally smooth dram, its bottle was – at one time – quite ordinary. It was little different from the bottles of many of other blends. In 1957, just as sales of whisky were liberalised after 15 years of rationing caused by the Second World War, it was time to take advantage of this opportunity and to reinvent.

People often judge quality as much by their eyes as by their taste buds, so it is vital to make a good first impression. The brief to the bottle designer was to create a distinctive, elegant design that would highlight the wonderful colour of the whisky within. It also had to pack and stack efficiently.

The intuitive response was the triangle, a shape that held much meaning for Grant’s. It was seen to symbolise the Scottish water, air and barley from which Grant’s Scotch whisky was made. Others saw the three sides as representing the tradition, heritage and quality of the blend.

The bottle designer’s thinking, however, was much more practical. There was no triangular bottle on the market, and the triangle was, in many ways, a much better shape for a bottle than the circle – the hand naturally closed around it rather than opening up and weakening one’s hold. The designer first sculpted the shape out of clay, and then out of plaster. He worked towards the right size by using a classic method – that of water displacement. He placed the

model bottle in a bucket full of water and measured the amount of water displaced. After a few attempts he reached the right size.

The rest is history. The quirky triangular bottle remains unique in blended Scotch whisky and is just one example of William Grant & Sons’ position as a

pioneering family company – an iconic bottle for an iconic whisky.

Win with Grant’s

Right now, Maltese consumers can win a range of innovative prizes with Grant’s Scotch Whisky. With every bottle purchased, they can enter a simple competition and win fantastic Philips products from Astral. The prizes include Philips 26” flat LCD TVs, mp3 players as well as micro Hi-Fi systems. More details are available in stores.

The competition closes on 15 January.