For a whisky brand that has been around since 1887, change doesn't come lightly. But William Grant & Sons has just pulled back the curtain on a sweeping new visual identity for Glenfiddich single malt — one that looks backward and forward at the same time, and signals that one of Scotland's most recognized names in whisky is ready for its next chapter.
The new look rolled out publicly for the first time not in a distillery tasting room or at a spirits trade show, but on the side of the Aston Martin Formula One Team's 2026 race car — a fitting stage for a brand trying to plant its flag in the world of modern luxury. The packaging itself will begin hitting shelves globally starting in April 2026.
So what actually changed? Quite a bit, as it turns out — though the people behind the redesign are quick to point out that this is an evolution, not a reinvention.
At the center of the new look is the stag. That iconic image has lived on Glenfiddich bottles since the 1960s, and its roots go even further back — all the way to an 1851 painting by Sir Edwin Landseer called The Monarch of the Glen. The stag has been refined and reworked for the new packaging, drawn now to better capture the rugged character of the Speyside landscape where the distillery sits, and framed by the founding year of 1887. It's a small but deliberate touch that grounds the whole design in place and time.
The wordmark has also been rethought from the ground up. The team moved to a sans-serif typeface — cleaner, more modern — but they did so with a nod to the typographic style that first appeared on Glenfiddich bottles back in the 1960s. That decade keeps coming up as a reference point, and for good reason. It was during that era that Glenfiddich helped put single malt Scotch whisky on the map as a serious international spirits category. The brand was pioneering at a time when blended Scotch ruled the world, and that spirit of going against the grain is something the redesign is trying to honor.
Rounding out the new packaging is the Grant family crest, which has been elevated and embossed directly into the design. The crest carries the family motto — "Stand Fast" — a phrase that speaks to more than five generations of stewardship over this distillery. It's not just decorative. It's a statement about who owns this brand and what they believe their responsibility is to it.
Will Peacock, global brand managing director at William Grant & Sons, framed the redesign this way: "With Glenfiddich's design evolution, we are pleased to reveal a refreshed look that honours the past of this 139-year-old whisky while celebrating a timeless modernity. This latest transformation reflects Glenfiddich's living legacy as a British luxury icon while setting the scene for its next chapter."
The language around the redesign leans heavily on phrases like "bold restraint" and "luxurious consistency" — which might sound like marketing speak, but there's a real idea underneath it. The goal wasn't to make Glenfiddich look trendy. It was to strip away anything that felt dated while keeping everything that made the bottle recognizable in the first place. The result is packaging that feels premium without trying too hard.
Glenfiddich malt master Brian Kinsman offered some context for why this kind of change fits the brand's character: "Innovation has always been part of Glenfiddich's DNA. The distillery was founded by people who weren't afraid to take risks, and that spirit still guides us today. As Glenfiddich looks to the future with new cask finishes, maturation techniques and collaborations that challenge perceptions of single malt, the brand remains rooted in continuity, with deep respect for what has come before."
That balance — between pushing forward and respecting what's already there — is really the whole story of this redesign. The new look draws directly from the Glenfiddich family archive, which stretches back across more than five generations. The designers went digging through that history specifically to find the visual threads worth carrying into the future, rather than starting from scratch.
The timing makes sense. Glenfiddich turns 139 this year, and the single malt Scotch category it helped build is bigger and more competitive than ever. Consumers who appreciate quality spirits have more options than at any point in history, and standing out on a back bar or a retail shelf requires more than just a good whisky inside the bottle. The outside has to do some work too.
What's worth noting is that this isn't a brand in trouble trying to reinvent itself. Glenfiddich is one of the best-selling single malts in the world. This redesign is the move of a confident brand — one that knows where it came from, has a clear idea of where it wants to go, and is willing to invest in the details to get there.
The stag still stands. The family crest still carries its motto. The name is still there, bold and unmistakable. But everything around those core elements has been tightened, elevated, and brought into sharper focus. For anyone who has had a bottle of Glenfiddich sitting on their shelf for years, the new look will feel familiar and fresh at the same time — which is probably exactly what William Grant & Sons was going for.
