The owners claim the distillery is one of Scotland’s oldest and it is certainly rumoured that illicit distillation was carried out in the area during the early 18th century due to its secluded location. In 1775, the Hosh distillery was established by a group of smugglers. The buildings sit at the banks of the River Turret, two miles from Crieff.
In 1826, a distillery called Glenturret was established, though it closed a couple of decades later. It was in 1875, that the Hosh distillery adopted the name Glenturret.
The whisky distillery was sadly closed for much of the early part of the 20th century due to World War and Prohibition. Following the acquisition by Mitchell Bros Ltd in 1903 the buildings were used as whisky storage. They deemed that whisky production would not be so lucrative. Mitchell Bros went into liquidation in 1929 and for some time the buildings were used for agricultural storage. Fortunately, in 1957 James Fairlie acquired the distillery and subsequently refurbished it.
Shortly after, the Glenturret distillery was acquired by Remy-Cointreau. Owners passed hands over the years, followed by Edrington and William Grant and Sons of previous owners, Highland Distillers, and the Edrington Group.
Today, the distillery is perhaps best known for its housing of the Famous Grouse Experience. The visitor centre is a top tourist draw and was installed in 2002, for the princely sum of £2.5 million. Famous Grouse is one of the world’s best-loved Scotch blends and Glenturret is said to be a component.
