Where Does The Glenlivet Captain’s Reserve Get It's Name From? (Whisky Names Explained)

This week in Whisky Names Explained, we’re diving into a whisky with a remarkable story. The Glenlivet Captain’s Reserve is inspired by Captain Bill, the man who ensured we can still enjoy The Glenlivet whiskies today.

Bill Smith Grant, better known as Captain Bill, was the great-grandson of George Smith, founder of The Glenlivet distillery. Captain Bill’s story reaches back to the First World War. During the conflict, Grant was one of many Scots who went to fight, taking part among other things in the Battle of Arras.

Grant served as a captain and led a battalion of soldiers. On one of his missions, the future distiller was severely wounded. Even so, he continued to lead his men through enemy territory until the mission was complete. For his actions, he was awarded the Military Cross.

Grant’s brother John was originally set to inherit The Glenlivet distillery from their parents, along with the family farms. But in 1914, John was sent to war with the Royal Flying Corps. Three years later, he was wounded in service and had to undergo surgery in France. Fate struck when the hospital where he was recovering was bombed.

After his own actions at the front, Captain Bill was sent home due to his injuries and had to recover in the United Kingdom. As a result, on his 25th birthday he left the army and took on the running of The Glenlivet distillery and the farm. It wasn’t exactly the easiest moment to begin life as a distillery owner.

Tough times were still ahead for Grant, beginning with Prohibition in the United States and the Great Depression that followed. Demand for Scotch whisky collapsed, but Grant was determined to keep the stills running. From then on, The Glenlivet would be promoted as a Single Malt: a style that still had some demand.

Eventually, the dark clouds over the United States began to lift, and The Glenlivet seized the moment to enter that market. In 1934, Grant dove straight into America, only for another blow to land soon after: the Second World War. It broke out just as The Glenlivet’s numbers were climbing fast.

After the war, The Glenlivet couldn’t immediately meet soaring demand from America. There had been no distillation between 1943 and 1944, leaving no whisky in stock. Captain Bill only managed to catch up with the huge demand around 1950.

Captain Bill, Bill Smith Grant, passed away in 2018. That same year, The Glenlivet released this whisky in honor of the distillery’s former leader. The Captain’s Reserve is a no-age-statement single malt, matured in ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks before receiving a fitting final touch.

Captain Bill had a deep connection with France, and that character shines through in the whisky. The finishing period lasted more than six months in French ex-cognac casks, giving The Glenlivet Captain’s Reserve a harmony of citrus notes, creamy sweetness, and that signature raisin richness from the cognac influence.