Award wins, success at a ground-breaking Sotheby’s auction, a collaboration with the country’s most renowned hotel, Gleneagles, and becoming Scotland’s first distillery to offer fine dining, with the launch of The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant – we’re reflecting on what made 2021 so special for our distillery and what it means for the year ahead.

Despite working through another year in the shadow of the pandemic, we saw a growth of more than 200%, making us one of the fastest developing brands in the sector. It means we’ve not only retained all staff members, we’ve doubled our world-class team.

Our achievements over the last year, amid a challenging time for the drinks and hospitality industry, is testament to the ambition of the brand and the hard work of our people. Here, we outline some of our personal highlights.

A year of reward

Nothing brings us more joy than making great-tasting whisky. Which is why we’re extremely honoured to have received 31 international awards for our whiskies in 2021, along with significant accolades for our redesigns and the wonderful team here at the distillery.

In June, the 10 Years Old Peat Smoked, the 12 Years Old and the Triple Wood won multiple gold and silver awards at The International Spirits Challenge competition and The Spirits Business Scotch Whisky Masters Competition.

The beautiful redesign of our bottles in the 2020 Maiden Release won us six gold medals from the esteemed Whisky Magazine Design Awards, with the Triple Wood winning Best Redesign of the Year.

Regarding our team, Master Distiller Bob Dalgarno and Distillery Manager Ian Renwick were recognised in the 2021 Icons of Whisky awards, with Bob winning the prestigious, ‘Master Distiller of the Year’ and Ian being rewarded Highly Commended, ‘Distillery Manager of the Year’. Assistant Brand Manager, Gemma McColl, was runner up Young Achiever in The Spirits Business Awards 2021. Congratulations to you all!

A year of firsts

2021 saw us become Scotland’s first distillery to offer fine dining at The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant. Expertly designed by distinguished duo Green & Mingarelli, the restaurant offers an experience as unique as the cuisine. Furnished with dramatic Lalique Champs Elysées chandeliers, the restaurant is finished with beautifully exposed centuries-old brickwork, to provide the most memorable experience for our guests.

We have welcomed globally renowned Head Chef, Mark Donald, to the team. Joining us from Michelin-starred Number One at The Balmoral in Edinburgh, Mark champions the exceptional Scottish produce foraged in the local terroir, fusing playful flavours reflective of his global experience.

The bar will play host to Scotland’s finest whiskies – taken from within and outside of The Glenturret archive – and boast exceptional wines from five continents. We also offer our guests a perfect Afternoon Tea experience served in the elegant salon, with beautiful food and drink creations provided by Kayleigh Turner, recent Pastry Chef of the Year at the Scottish Food & Drink Awards.

A year of charity

This year we were delighted to take part in the Sotheby’s inaugural ‘The Distillers One of One’ event, an auction to raise money for The Distillers' Charity supporting disadvantaged young people in Scotland.

The Glenturret and Lalique’s creation of Uaine, a unique single malt held in a jade green hand-blown crystal decanter fetched more than 1.5 times that of its low estimate of £20,000. Translating to green in Scottish Gaelic, the spellbinding Uaine was designed by Lalique's Creative Director, Marc Larminaux, and was presented in a bespoke hand-sculpted display chest.

The chest, sculpted by distinguished Scottish cabinet maker Callum Robinson, took over 100 hours to craft, its finish reflecting materials that René Lalique himself may have worked with a century ago.

A look ahead

As we enter 2022, we have no plans to slow down. We intend to provide the finest of dining to our guests in The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant with the aim to achieve our first Michelin star within the year. Investing in our people is incredibly important to us and we’ll be looking to expand our team of world-class experts throughout the coming year.

Our upcoming 2022 range boasts six new, unprecedented whiskies. Additionally, for the next five years, The Glenturret – in partnership with Scotland’s most esteemed country hotel, Gleneagles – will produce 750 bottles per year of the very first Gleneagles single malt, celebrating the fusion of two renowned names with a shared locality and focus on exceptional quality.

And finally, we want to push further our commitment to climate change and sustainability. In partnership with SWA Climate Agreement, we promise to reach Net-Zero emissions in our own operations by 2040.

2021 has been a truly remarkable year and we’re excited to continue to produce great-tasting whisky and provide unique experiences to our treasured guests. We owe all our accomplishments to our brilliant team and our delightful customers. Thank you.