The founders son, also named George, set up in Argyll Street, Glasgow, in 1872 as a whisky, wine and cigar merchant, with many export interests, especially the promotion of their Old Glenlivet and Talisker Fine Malt brands.

Royal Warrant
In 1903 the family business was granted a Royal Warrant and was recorded as "transacting an immense trade in supplying wines and spirits to families of distinction all over Scotland and in many parts of England and Ireland." In the 1920s the Ballantine family sold the firm to the junior partners,james Barclay and PA. McKinlaywho formed a limited company under the Ballantine's name and went on to concentrate on marketing the brand abroad, particularly in the USA.Throughout Prohibition (1920-33) james Barclay's efforts to obtain distribution in the United States were tireless, and not without danger, but by the mid- 1930’s he had the best distribution network of any brand on the East Coast.

New grain distillery
Increasingly large resources were required to compete in the growing world market, and these were provided by Hiram Walker Gooderham & Worts, the major Canadian distillers, which acquired Ballantine's in 1937.The new company's first task was to secure fillings, to which end Miltonduff and Glenburgie Distilleries were purchased, and a massive new grain distillery - the largest in Europe - built at Dumbarton.

During the 1960s the company turned to Europe - at that time an unexplored market for Scotch - and by 1965 had secured such a strong foothold there that it resolved to gear the home trade to supporting the overseas business. Ballantine's Finest is the number one brand in Europe and the third largest in the world. The company's de luxe lends, including a 30 year old, have established a strong following in the Far East.