The Glenturret Distillery

Possibly the oldest operating distillery in Scotland

History

Founded in 1775, Glenturret could be the oldest active Scottish distillery. Some of the buildings from that time are still in use currently. And records have distillation taking place as early as 1717, prior to the actual granting of the distillery license.

Settled in a very picturesque hilly area, Glenturret was first known as Hosh Distillery. Its current name dates back to 1875.

The distillery closed in 1921 and was used as a whisky warehouse. It was partially dismantled two years later and used as a barn.

Closed from 1921 until 1959, it came back to live thanks to James Fairlie who refurbished it , being very carefully not to loose its traditional character.

From 1981 till 1990, the distillery belonged to the Cointreau company. Since 1993, it belongs to the Highland Distillers group.

Glenturret is not only famous for its whisky. It appears in the Guinness Book of records, thanks to Towser, a very great mice hunter. Towser is one of the Glenturret famous cats. Towser has killed 28899 mice.

Glenturret is one of the smallest distilleries of Scotland, and one of the most visited as well. In November 1999, the Highland Distillers group was acquired by the Edrington Group for 601 million pounds.

About 70% of the production is marketed as single malt, the remaining part being used in blends like Glenturret Malt Liquor, Fairlie Liquor (named after James Fairlie) and the Famous Grouse.