Handcrafted and full of Glenturret heritage

It’s over 25 years since Ian Renwick first came to The Glenturret, and he couldn’t be prouder of the inaugural single malt we’re releasing in his name. Manager’s Dram is a whisky that’s close to his heart – personally crafted and overseen, every step of the way from still to beautiful signature bottle.

Available exclusively from our award-winning Crieff distillery and on our website from 17:00, 30th November, every drop of this limited run has been slowly fermented and distilled, then carefully matured in three American and European sherry casks, handpicked by Ian for their individual character and flavours.

Our Manager’s Dram tasting notes

It’s been a genuine labour of love, and we’re really proud of the results. On the nose, Manager’s Dram brings you smouldering oak embers, entwined in a soft embrace with sweet, ripe oranges, toffee apple and a hint of intense dark chocolate. On the palate, it’s full of the flavours of warm citrus and rich dried fruits. Sweet smouldering heather thickens in the mouth, giving way to a smooth, velvety, lingering finish.

“It’s no secret at the distillery that I like a peated whisky – a ‘sweet peat’ in particular,” says Ian. “I was heavily involved when we started producing peated spirit at The Glenturret back in 2009, and for me it was an important quality to include in Manager’s Dram. The long fermentation and slow distillation produce a sweet peated, delicate spirit full of citrus, orange and toffee apple notes. I wanted this dram to showcase those characteristics. We call it Manager’s Dram, but now I’d love the world to enjoy it.”

A role with real roots

Ian’s been at The Glenturret for most of his working life, having first worked on-site with a local contractor as an apprentice engineer in 1986, and joining The Glenturret family officially as a production operator in 1996. In those days, if the pipes were broken, there was welding to be done or the boiler went down, Ian came to the distillery’s rescue. It was the beginning of a journey which saw him gradually move into full-time whisky production – a career he loved. Over the years, he nurtured our team, looked after our sites and kept our standards high, eventually taking over the reins as Distillery Manager in 2017.

It proved to be a pivotal role. Not long after, we parted ways with our previous parent company, becoming a standalone distillery with more control over our whisky than ever before. Ian steered us through the whole process, navigating the distillery’s sale, maintaining the team’s morale and charting a course towards a more sustainable future.

Shaping the distillery’s direction

Over the last 12 months, Ian’s worked incredibly hard to help us make the transition to 100% Scottish barley. Not content with that, he’s created a network of incredible local craftsmen to join us as trusted suppliers, building relationships that mean, as much as possible, our exceptional quality barley isn’t only Scottish, but locally sown, grown and harvested. We truly believe it’s the future of our brand.

Ian’s work to help us become a greener distillery hasn’t stopped there. He’s signed us up to the Scottish Whisky Association Climate Agreement and he’s working to significantly reduce our water use, lower our CO2 emissions and recover heat from our whisky production. He’s also been instrumental in bringing two young apprentices into the distillery, echoing his own journey with The Glenturret and helping us develop a new generation of industry talent.

But back to the whisky.

“The change in ownership at The Glenturret allowed us to concentrate on our whiskies as a single malt in their own right,” says Ian. “Since then, I’ve been working closely with whisky maturing, so when I was asked to create this whisky, I jumped at the chance. I’ve really enjoyed the process and I can’t wait to start working on next year’s expression.”

We couldn’t agree more, and we’ll be launching further releases each year, celebrating the unique flavours each handpicked cask brings to this very special dram.

If you’d like to add an exclusive bottle of Manager’s Dram to your collection, we’d love to see you at the distillery – but if you can’t make it in person, you’ll also find this beautiful limited run in our online shop.

Add Manager's Dram to your collection