William Grant was a man of extraordinary capacities. One of the Dufftown Volunteers, William Ramsay, gave a vivid portrait of the old Major:

“Mr Grant was always busy with something. Oh yes, he was a very bright man - a very live cove. He wasn't a particularly tall man but he was a broad man that could carry himself, and always with dignity - nothing proud about him.”

Although he spoke in the broad Scots of his native Banffshire the Major had a withering command of English particularly when he had a pen in his hand. Highly efficient himself and consumed with energy and ambition he found it difficult to countenance incompetence in others and his bluntness was legendary. On the other hand, with his staff he was a model of consideration. The story goes that he always whistled loudly when he moved around the distillery, especially when approaching a warehouse where he might have stumbled on one of the workers extracting a dram from a convenient cask.

William Grant remained active in the company until his death in 1923 at the grand age of 83.