The Glenturret Distillery

The Glenturret’s story

Glenturret is Scotland’s oldest single malt distillery that is still in operation. Nestled in the outskirts of the Highland town of Crieff, the distillery has been making whisky since 1775. It is one of a handful in Scotland to exist that were founded in the 18th century. The others are Balblair (1790), Blair Athol (1798), Bowmore (1779), Glen Garioch (1797), Highland Park (1798), Oban (1794), Strathisla (1786) and Tobermory (1798).

The Glenturret is known for its robust and malty style of single malt spirit. The core range consists of six single malts released on an annual basis. This concept was launched in 2020 by The Lalique Group. Each year the expressions remain the same, but the whiskies are different. This is a change of strategy by the ownership. Prior to this, The Glenturret was heavily used as a key ingredient by several blended Scotch brands, most notably The Famous Grouse and Cutty Sark.

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The Glenturret’s history

Glenturret was established in 1775 by a group of farmers and was named Hosh Distillery. They took over farm buildings at Hosh Farm for production, which is located outside of Crieff in Perthshire. It would not officially become named as Glenturret for another century.

Thomas Stewart became owner in 1875 and switched the name. It was taken from another local distillery that had closed in 1852. The 20th century saw several ownership changes and periods of closure following World War I, most significantly a 30-year period between 1929 and1959. Notable owners include Mitchell Bros Ltd. (who took control in 1903), James Fairlie (1957), Remy Cointreau (1981) and Highland Distillers (1990).

Stability was achieved once The Edrington Group and William Grant & Sons purchased Highland Distillers in 1999. The joint venture saw Edrington hold the majority stake of 70%. The distillery was acquired to secure consistent stock of its malt for The Famous Grouse blend. In 2002 they opened The Famous Grouse Experience at the distillery and made Glenturret the spiritual home of the brand.

Glenturret’s recent single malt renaissance has happened since The Lalique Group, the famous jewellery and crystal glassware company, took control in 2019. They quickly set about re-establishing The Glenturret as a single malt brand. This included creating a new core range, changing how the whiskies are released, a packaging redesign and revamping the visitor centre. The link to The Famous Grouse has also been cut.

• How to pronounce Glenturret? glen-turret
• Country: Scotland
• Region: Highlands
• Founded: 1775
• Current owners: The Lalique Group
• Production capacity per year: 500,000 litres
• Mash tun: 1.9 ton
• Washbacks: 8
• Stills: 2
• Visitor centre: Yes

The Glenturret Distillery
The Hosh
Crieff
Perthshire
PH7 4HA
tel – +44(0)1764 656565
theglenturret.com

Did you know?

The Glenturret is the only Scotch whisky distillery to boast a Michelin starred restaurant on site. This was introduced by The Lalique Group shortly after they took control of the distillery and brand in 2019.