In 1963, William Grant and Sons built the Girvan Distillery as a staple source of grain whisky for blending purposes. The distillery is sited within an unused munitions factory from World War Two, sited in the Lowlands. Girvan has an impressive production capacity of fifteen million litres annually.

The Ladyburn distillery was built within the Girvan complex in 1966, though it shut in 1975. Aside from producing a blending component, Girvan also releases single grain whiskies, many of which have received wide acclaim. In 1995, the single grain Black Barrel was released in France, Spain and Portugal.