Duncan Taylor was founded in Glasgow as a cask trader and broker in 1938 and is now one of Scotland’s pre-eminent independent bottlers of single malt and single grain whiskies, as well as being the custodians of the Black Bull blended whisky brand. 

In the late 1960s the Duncan Taylor company was acquired by Abe Rosenberg, an American blender who built up a large stock of thousands of casks, blending and exporting several proprietary brands back to the USA. Following Rosenberg’s death in 1994, Duncan Taylor fell dormant, but Glendronach alumnus Euan Shand and his business partner Alan Gordon bought the company in 2002.  Shand took over full control in 2006 and Duncan Taylor relocated their business premises to Huntly, Aberdeenshire in 2014.

Duncan Taylor began bottling a large range of single malts, single grains and blended whiskies under various different labels immediately following Shand and Gordon’s takeover. Today, the Duncan Taylor Octave series is the company's main range, showcasing whiskies finished in tiny re-coopered 'octave' sherry casks.