William Teacher started work in a cotton mill aged seven; in 1830 he was employed by a small grocer in Glasgow. He married the owner's daughter, persuaded the firm to take out a licence to sell wines & spirits & expanded into 'dram shops'. These were basic public houses selling reliable spirits, with rules against buying rounds & having loud conversations; drunks & rowdies were quickly removed. Within twenty years he was the largest licence holder in Glasgow.
By this time he had been joined in the business by his sons, Adam & William. Following the example of others they moved into wholesaling, providing special blends for specific customers. One of these became very popular, so they concentrated their energies on producing & marketing it as Teacher's Highland Cream (it was registered in 1884). Export growth was the next move: as early as 1903 the brand was being exported to America.
During the First World War, the company voluntarily reduced sales of its whisky, by giving customers a ration card which entitled them to only five glasses a week or a bottle a fortnight. As a result, when peace returned the company had a great deal of whisky in store.
The demand for teacher's Highland Cream grew steadily over the years
- so much so that the company was able to build a modern blending & bottling plant in Glasgow in 1962.
In 1976 William Teacher & Sons Ltd joined Allied Distillers, & today their key brand is among the top five best-selling whiskies in Britain, with a strong position in the world market.