William Lawson first entered the whisky trade in 1888, when he was working as exports manager at E&J Burke’s blending, bottling and export company in Dublin, where the name W. Lawson & Co was registered the following year. Blending and bottling operations were maintained in Dublin until 1923, when they were moved to Liverpool.

In September 1963 Clan Munro Whisky (part of the Italian vermouth and sparkling wine specialist Martini & Rossi) bought the Lawson’s trademark. In 1969 came the creation of William Lawson Whisky Ltd, just two years after the brand relocated to Coatbridge in Lanarkshire from Liverpool, which began to absorb all Martini & Rossi whisky interests from Clan Munro. This process was completed in 1972 and coincided with the acquisition Macduff Distillery to handle operations and the amendment of the company name to William Lawson Distillers.

In 1993 Bacardi purchased Martini & Rossi, and with it William Lawson Distillers and Macduff Distillery, who moved the brand to Parkhead in 1997. Bacardi then acquired John Dewar & Sons Ltd and five distilleries from Diageo to help expand upon Macduff and increase the amount of William Lawson spirit being made. Recent years have seen William Lawson’s sales rise dramatically – volumes almost doubled between 2010 and 2014, and there has been considerable success on the international market, in particular in Russia, where it can claim to be the country’s largest imported spirit brand.