The Distillers Company origins lie in a trade association known as the Scotch Distillers' Association formed by Menzies, Barnard & Craig, John Bald & Co., John Haig & Co., MacNab Bros, Robert Mowbray and Macfarlane & Co. in 1865.

[1] During the early part of the 1900s, DCL embarked in programme of distillery acquisitions at low prices in the wake of the Pattisons crash of 1898.

The company still exists today as Diageo Scotland Ltd.[5][6] Many malt distilleries were operated by DCL and most are still open under new owners:[7][5] The Distillers Company owned several blended whisky brands:[5] Since 1915, during the World War I, Distillers supplied industrial alcohol for making explosives.

[12] From 1942, Distillers Biochemicals (DCBL) operated an Agency Factory of the British Ministry of Supply manufacturing penicillin in Speke.

[15] Thalidomide had been developed by Grunenthal with whom, in July 1957, DCBL signed a sixteen-year contract to market the drug.

DCBL ordered 6,000 tablets for clinical trial and 500 grammes of pure substance for animal experiments and formulation.

Later, Thalidomide was marketed under the names Asmaval, Tensival, Valgis, and Valgraine and found to cause nerve damage and malformations in births.