Inside Scotland’s oldest whisky distillery

By Elizabeth Hunter

New pictures show the inner workings of Scotland's oldest working distillery - which has been operating since 1763.

The Glenturret Distillery in Perthshire has been producing whisky for over 250 years, and has welcomed Prime Ministers, princes, and even the legendary Robert Burns through its doors.

The team at Glenturret use water from the Grampian mountain range, and around 1.8 tons of barley for each batch of whisky - and they say their distilling process has remained as traditional as possible to honor their roots.

The distillery uses a copper pot still in a shape that has remained unchanged throughout the history of Scottish whisky making - which millions of visitors have laid eyes on over the years.

Visitor Attraction Manager Alex Thomson said: "We're doing things traditionally, with old-fashioned practices and very little computerization.

"That allows us to keep this manual feel to it.

"This is going to be our biggest year at Glenturret - 440,000 liters is the goal this year, and that's just a drop in the ocean for a modern whisky distillery.

"We've been here making whisky now for 262 years - which is pretty impressive, considering no one else has done it.

"In terms of production, the team is here from around 5 a.m. until about 7/8 at night.

"Ideally, we do three production runs in a day, and each production run uses about 1.8 tonnes of barley."

The distillery is also home to two cats - Glen and Turret, who follow in the footsteps of Towser, the resident pest controller from 1963 to 1987.

Towser was awarded a Guinness World Record for her work - killing an estimated 28,899 mice during her time at Glenturret.

Orange tabby Glen, and Turret, a gray tabby, can often be spotted prowling around the distillery - or curling up on the desks of office staff.

The distillery welcomes around 35,000 visitors each year for tours, traveling from around the world to take a look at the historic site and the Perthshire countryside.

For Alex, the job offers an opportunity to showcase the hard work of distillers, hospitality of the locals, and the idyllic scenery.

He said: "We're quite a busy site and we have a whole range of things on site.

"Visitors have the opportunity to see every single inch of an old-fashioned distillery, and while they're doing that, they can dine in a two-Michelin star restaurant and then stay at a beautiful historic house.

"For me, my day is based around the visitor center, making sure the team are prepared for the number of visitors we're going to have, hosting the tours, and running the shop.

"For me, the best part is getting to share my passion for what I think is an incredible product, an incredible venue, and an incredible part of Scotland.

"I'm very lucky to be from this part of the world - I grew up around 20 miles from here. I'm very passionate about Perthshire, as a place to live and as a tourist destination as well.

"Glenturret is a perfect showcase of what Perthshire has to offer - a warm welcome from our hospitality side, real, hard-working people on the production side, and our kitchen putting out some of the best food you can find in the UK.

"It's difficult not to be passionate about it - it means a lot to the people that work here."