Tucked away in a secluded glen on the banks of the Turret River in Scotland’s southern Highlands lies Glenturret Distillery. Like many scotch whisky makers, it’s a spot with a wealthy however troubled historical past. It’s usually touted because the oldest working distillery in Scotland, first established in 1763—and for practically 50 years previous to that, the positioning had been used as a haven for bootleggers and smugglers, with the encompassing hills as lookout factors. Over the following century and a half, the distillery, formally named Glenturret in 1875, could be offered a number of instances earlier than closing down twice by the Nineteen Twenties. It will definitely reopened in 1959, however then underwent one other collection of gross sales—passing by the fingers of Rémy Cointreau, Highland Distillers, William Grant & Sons, and eventually Edrington over the following 40 years.
In 2018, Edrington put Glenturret up on the market, looking for to dump this comparatively small distillery with a purpose to give attention to extra necessary manufacturers Macallan, Highland Park, and Glenrothes. The next yr Glenturret was acquired by French luxurious model Lalique—famend for its breathtaking crystals, high-end perfumes, and ultra-luxe collaborations with Macallan—in partnership with Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss. This was Lalique’s first actual transfer into the wine and spirits area—previous the launch of Aberturret gin and its acquisition of the Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey wine property in Bordeaux—and Lalique shortly went to work whipping Glenturret right into a luxurious model, in keeping with its different merchandise. Since then the distillery has change into one thing of a ritzy vacation spot for guests in Scotland, together with an in depth tour program and a brand new luxurious resort known as the Aberturret Property Home which boasts a two Michelin Star eating expertise helmed by govt chef Mark Donald. It reworked the whisky vary to supply 5 core expressions—the flagship Triple Wooden, 7 yr previous Peat Smoked, 10 yr previous Peat Smoked, 12 yr previous, and 15 yr previous.
For a Highlands whisky maker, Glenturret’s previous is curiously drenched in peat smoke. Although it’s far much less smoky than what you’d discover on Islay, Glenturret has all the time used peat as a part of its manufacturing course of, with most of that historical past happening previous to the distillery shutting down within the ’20s. However peat additionally performed a key position in Glenturret’s trendy historical past—when the main target was on making elements that served as a cornerstone of Well-known Grouse’s blends. (For a few years, Glenturret even had a big copper grouse statue in its parking zone and provided visitors a customer program known as “The Well-known Grouse Expertise”.) Throughout these years, Glenturret distilled smoky whisky from flippantly peated malts that have been sourced from outdoors malting homes. It will definitely began producing its personal closely peated malt on-site in 2008, and the ensuing whiskies turned the important thing elements of Well-known Grouse’s in style Smoky Black. In 2009, Glenturret began bottling that smokier single malt by itself as Ruadh Maor, which later turned an annual launch.
However in newer instances Glenturret has stopped producing mix elements in favor of releasing its personal single malt, and peat has consequently taken a backseat. Over time, the distillery has been steadily utilizing much less peat—which has represented about 10% of its general manufacturing since 2019. Now Glenturret is planning to slam its foot on the brakes—asserting that it’ll cease utilizing peated malt this yr, and can retire its peated 7 yr previous and 10 yr previous from the core vary by 2026. Particulars are nonetheless scarce at this level on exactly what the peatless 2026 Glenturret core vary lineup will appear to be. The distillery hasn’t disclosed whether or not the vary will shrink down from 5 bottlings to 3, or if the peated expressions will likely be changed with one thing new.
Misplaced in Translation
Why make the transfer to ditch peat altogether? Glenturret managing director Jennie Baernreuther says the choice was largely influenced by advertising challenges overseas. She notes that some drinkers in markets outdoors of Europe and the U.S. have been confused by the distillery’s peated expressions, and that Glenturret wasn’t absolutely in a position to talk the fashion to them. “Once they like peat, they have a tendency to go straight to Islay and so they don’t actually learn about Highland peat,” she explains. “It’s very troublesome for folks to grasp what it’s, not to mention be probably to decide on Glenturret’s peated [whiskies].”
The staff briefly kicked across the concept of retaining the peated expressions, albeit in a separate vary—much like what Bruichladdich has with Port Charlotte, or different unpeated/peated sister-brand preparations like Glenallachie/Meikle Toir and Springbank/Longrow. However they ultimately scrapped that concept, figuring that it could additional complicate issues. As a substitute, the plan is to reorient the distillery’s home fashion in a method that focuses totally on sherry cask maturation.
Baernreuther additionally notes that the choice to cease utilizing peat dovetails with Glenturret’s ongoing sustainability efforts. Since taking the reins in 2019, co-owner Hansjörg Wyss, who has an extended historical past of funding conservation causes, directed the distillery to start out exploring extra sustainable methods to make whisky. The distillery needed to make a variety of adjustments—together with changing its hand-mashed open-top mash tuns with extra trendy ones—which have saved round 1 million liters of water a yr whereas slashing power consumption by 27% yearly. The distillery checked out strategies for decreasing its peat-related carbon emissions, however figured that, contemplating the advertising downside, merely abandoning peat would basically kill two birds with one stone. Glenturret just lately received this yr’s Walpole Sustainable Luxurious Model of the Yr award, and goals to have zero carbon emissions by 2040.
The core peated expressions are set for retirement subsequent yr, however Baernreuther says that followers may nonetheless be capable to get their fingers on smoky Glenturret someday after that. She notes that roughly 20% of Glenturret’s present stock is peated, and the plan is to bottle these whiskies as market exclusives for connoisseurs in sure locales. The precise particulars are at present undisclosed, however they’re anticipated to be stylistically much like Glenturret’s peated 10 yr previous.
The Path Ahead
The choice to ditch peat is simply the newest change at Glenturret since its 2019 acquisition. The model underwent an official relaunch the next yr; the obvious distinction was a glossy new bottle design, however the distillery made just a few different adjustments behind the scenes. Now Glenturret will make sherry cask maturation the defining attribute of its home fashion. That course of has concerned re-racking older shares, which have been matured in comparatively drained and inert casks laid down previous to the acquisition. However Glenturret has additionally put a premium on working with high quality casks for the whiskies distilled throughout the Lalique period. These efforts have been shepherded by Stuart MacPherson, former grasp of wooden for Macallan, who helps Glenturret supply its casks immediately from sherry bodegas. The distillery is primarily utilizing a mixture of American and European oak hogsheads, that are seasoned with completely different sherry sorts like oloroso or PX. Baernreuther mentions that the oloroso-seasoned American oak casks are a heavy lifter within the recipe, contributing sweetness, dried fruits, and nuttiness.
When it comes to different fascinating barrel initiatives, Glenturret is at present growing sauternes cask-finished expressions utilizing barrels from two vineyards within the area. The distillery can be engaged on a Rob Roy cocktail venture with a consumer, which makes use of whisky aged in virgin oak. Baernreuther says that, after spending 3 years in these new barrels, the scotch got here out tasting like a bourbon.
Elsewhere, Glenturret has additionally been exhausting at work increasing its manufacturing capability and availability. When it initially relaunched its core vary, the discharge accounted for about 46,000 bottles that have been obtainable solely in just a few markets. Now, Glenturret has a presence in 22 markets world wide. Final yr’s core lineup is greater than thrice bigger than the unique, with round 150,000 bottles. This yr’s batch is predicted to be even greater, leaping to 180,000 bottles.
