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On Saturday (13th August), Scotland’s
oldest lady, Janet Roberts, celebrated
her 110th birthday in the company of
family and friends. Janet – or ‘The Wee
Ja’ as she is known to her nearest and
dearest – is the last surviving
grand-daughter of William Grant, the
founder of Glenfiddich Distillery.
William showed true pioneering spirit in
creating his own distillery against all
the financial odds, and that sense of
determination and endeavour has
unquestionably been passed down through
the generations.
Born during the last year of the reign
of Queen Victoria, Janet is the
matriarch of the Grant family which
still owns and runs William Grant & Sons
Ltd, one of the last remaining
independent distillers in Scotland and
best known as the producers of
Glenfiddich, the world’s leading single
malt whisky.
Janet Roberts was born in the wild,
bleak uplands of ‘The Cabrach,’ renowned
in the past as a centre for illicit
distilling and situated mid-way between
Inverness and Aberdeen. Gordon and Grant
ancestry figures in Janet’s lineage,
with the Gordon family being able to
trace its origins in The Cabrach back to
1509. On her mother’s side, she is
descended from Alexander Grant, who was
known as ‘Auld Cearnach,’ and fought at
the Battle of Culloden in 1746, living
to the age of 103. The Grants originate
from Muchrach Castle near Dulnain
Bridge, some 30 miles south-west of
Dufftown.
Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities both
featured in Janet’s education, and she
studied law at the latter, where she met
her future husband, fellow lawyer Eric
Roberts. Eric went on to become Chairman
of William Grant & Sons Ltd, and today
Janet’s nephew Charles, remains active
as Life President at the age of 83,
while her great-nephew Peter Grant
Gordon is the current Chairman, while
other family members also play a
significant role in running the company.
Janet Roberts still lives within a few
miles of Glenfiddich Distillery,
situated in the whisky-producing
heartland of Speyside, and this
remarkable and indomitable lady
continues to exemplify the virtues of
independence and cherished heritage
which are so dear to her whole family.
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