The name Glenrothes (sometimes Glen Rothes) means valley of Rothes, or valley of the Earls of Rothes. Glenrothes was founded in 1897 by William Grant & Co. - this is not the same Grant family responsible for Glenfiddich. In 1903 the distillery was severely damaged by an explosion and had to be rebuilt. If one thought a blow of fate of this magnitude was enough for a single distillery, Glenrothes was hit hard again in 1922 - when a fire broke out in one of the warehouses and 2500 casks of whiskey burst into flames. On this day, burning whiskey flowed into the Burn of Rothes. Since Glenrothes whiskey enjoyed great popularity early on, the distillery was expanded several times. In 1963 they increased from four to six stills, in 1980 to eight and in 1989 finally to 10 stills. Today Glenrothes is part of the Highland Distillers Group Limited.