As we look back on 2023, it's time to raise a glass and reflect on the remarkable journey of The Glenturret. From innovative whisky releases to a retained Michelin Star, sustainability and awards, The Glenturret has had another successful year. Join us as we take a sip of our favourite dram and delve into the year's highlights in our year-round review… 

Tourism, People & Production  

From eco-friendly packaging to energy-efficient production methods, a new sustainability strategy & responsible tourism charter, The Glenturret made its commitment to tourism and Net Zero by 2040. We also celebrated success across our departments with long service awards, industry recognitions, and charity fundraisers. 

• Our Visitor Centre welcomed over 45,000 international visitors throughout 2023.  
• The Glenturret Distillery was announced as Butterfly Mark certified in May passing Positive Luxury's independent ESG+ assessment having achieved Butterfly Mark certification for embedded measurable, sustainability practices across our business operations. To achieve the Butterfly Mark, companies must achieve a minimum of 50% in each area of assessment: Environment, Social, and Governance (ESG). The Glenturret achieved 71% in Environment, 78% in Social and 79% in Governance, excelling in the following areas: SMART MONITORING & REPORTING, SUSTAINABILITY PURPOSE, WASTE MANAGEMENT & CLIMATE. 
• Since June, we have raised over £4900 for Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust from our distillery tour charity partnership, where we donate 50p from every tour to the Perth & Kinross Countryside Trust, a charitable organisation that develops, improves, and conserves Perthshire’s countryside. 
• Our longest-serving Glenturret team members Ian Renwick (Distillery Manager), Joanna McEwan (Customer Service and Logistics Co-ordinator) and Brian Gariock (Process Operator) achieved 'The Glenturret Long Service Award' for over 25 Years of service in September 2023.  
• The Glenturret are delighted to have received the Scotch Whisky Producer Trophy, sponsored by Forsyths at IWSC'S 2023 awards in October.  
• The World Luxury Awards celebrated its 17th year of awarding some of the top hotels, spas, restaurants and travel establishments in October 2023 and we were delighted to announce The Glenturret won best Tourism Destination for Northern Europe. 
• Project Manager, Lucy Armstrong was awarded Sustainability Officer of the year at the Scottish Whisky Magazine Awards. Congratulations Lucy!
• The Glenturret was awarded The Green Tourism Gold Award, with an overall score of 80% for our first assessment, the team have shown great commitment and are embracing sustainability throughout the business. A fantastic achievement, very well done to our Green Team.   
• The Glenturret raised over £1400 and over 30 toy donations for The Crieff Community Food Bank throughout 2023, hosting our first Spring Fair and another successful Christmas Fair at The Glenturret Distillery.   

The Glenturret Whisky Releases 

From small-batch releases to limited editions and auction records The Glenturret launched over 15 new whiskies in 2023. 

• Our Amber Island x The Glenturret limited release of 30 NFT bottles sold out within 7 minutes of launch in February 2023.  This exclusive collaboration with Amber Island, a Web3 community built around exceptional whiskies, and WEB3 artist Mark Inducil allowed us the opportunity to release The Glenturret's first-ever rare whisky NFT: Aged 30 years. Bottled only 30 times. Making this the scarcest release in the history of The Glenturret distillery. Exclusively available for Amber Island members. 
• The Glenturret Triple Wood was judged the world’s top single malt Scotch whisky at the 2023 International Wines and Spirits Competition (IWSC) in March, winning an Outstanding Gold medal with a score of 99, alongside Gold medals for our Glenturret 10 & 15 Years Old and Silver medals for both our Glenturret 7 & 12 Years Old whiskies. 
• In May we released Eight Decades, a collaboration with Lalique and renowned American artist, James Turrell who is famed worldwide for working with light and space to create artworks that engage viewers with the limits and wonder of human perception. Limited to 80 worldwide, this decanter has been created as a celebration of the artist's 80th year and a poetic tribute to generations of craftsmanship from both The Glenturret Distillery (since 1763) and Lalique’s master glassmakers (since 1888). Inside, the whisky has been meticulously selected by The Glenturret’s renowned Whisky Maker Bob Dalgarno, and has been drawn from eight casks, ranging from 1987 through to 1998, each representing a different decade in James Turrell’s life. 
• Our Core Collection for 2023, comprising of eight signature whiskies, crafted by Whisky Maker, Bob Dalgarno was released in July. For the first time, a 35 Year Old expression joined the range, created from a single European Oak sherry butt chosen for its unusually complex personality.  
• The Glenturret, Scotland’s Oldest Working Distillery achieved a new auction record of £125,000 with The Glenturret Enduring Spirit at the Distillers One of One Charity Auction in October 2023.  
• We were also delighted to release our third limited edition single malt from The Gleneagles Hotel trilogy series in November. Crafted in collaboration with Whisky Maker, Bob Dalgarno, the third expression was an 11 Years Old single malt whisky with extraordinary character, exclusively available from The Gleneagles Hotel. 
• Manager’s Dram No.3 crafted by Distillery Manager Ian Renwick, was another resounding success selling out to our Guild community members within days of its release in November.  
• In December we launched edition two of our Glenturret x Jaguar collaboration with our C-Type whisky collaboration. 
• To finish the year on high we achieved a new auction record of $200,000 for the artists’ proof decanter of “Eight Decades” – created by renowned artist James Turrell, in collaboration with Lalique. All proceeds from the sale of the decanter were donated to the Roden Crater Foundation. The artist’s proof decanter was offered as part of Sotheby’s Whisky & Whiskey Auction, which took place in New York on Saturday, 9th December. 

Sponsors & Partnerships 

We were delighted to welcome new partnerships in 2023 and continue our local community engagement.  

• We are proud to have sponsored Scottish racing driver Ross Wylie for the 2023 Porsche Carrera Cup Great Britain. 
• In April 2023 we created a global partnership with Oyster Yachts focused on handcrafted luxury. United by a dedication to excellence, craftmanship and passion in their respective fields, the two brands united to enrich the experience of Oyster owners globally. Central to this was The Glenturret 12 Years Old Oyster Yachts Edition, which is now gifted to each new Oyster owner. 
• We continued our successful local partnership with Crieff Rugby Club, for both the men’s 1st XV team and for the first year the women’s 1st XV team.  
• We continue to sponsor and support The OurWhisky Foundation, a non-profit organisation recognising, supporting, and empowering women working in whisky around the world, while advocating for a more inclusive and diverse industry. 
• In June we unveiled The Glenturret’s new luxury lifestyle, clothing, and accessories collection in collaboration with Scotland’s leading sustainable garment producer, Alexander Manufacturing. Featuring a bespoke tartan, created exclusively for The Glenturret by the iconic Lovat Mill and listed on the Scottish tartan register, our new limited collection included a male and female trench coat, a weekend bag, flat-cap hat and a picnic blanket. 

The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant 

Our onsite MICHELIN-starred restaurant continued its 2022 success with a range of exciting events and awards throughout the year.  

• The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant kicked off the year winning 4 AA Rossettes at the AA Rosette Awards in February.  
• Head Chef Mark Donald and his team travelled south to participate in Northcote Obsession 23. 
• The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant retained its one MICHELIN star at the MICHELIN Guide UK & Ireland awards in March 2023. Congratulations to Head Chef Mark Donald and his incredible team, and all the stars at this year's awards.   
• In May we were listed in the National Restaurant Awards Top 100 List and received the award for “Best Restaurant in Scotland”, at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards. A wonderful accolade for the team to receive from such a respected awards body. To additionally enter the rankings for the first time at #36 in the Top 100 restaurants in the UK is fantastic.  
• Congratulations to Executive Sommelier Julien Beltzung who was listed in the Sommelier Edit Top 100 UK Sommelier's list in the summer of 2023.  
• We were delighted to welcome Mickael Viljanen and his team of CHAPTER ONE Restaurant for a sold out four-hands dinner, cooking alongside our Executive Head Chef Mark Donald and The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant team. 
• The restaurant followed its continued success in June where we were awarded the Wine Spectator’s 2023 Best of Award of Excellence. The Best of Award of Excellence winner's criteria includes a wine list of around 350 selections or more, representing a breadth of wine regions and styles and vintage depth through vertical collections of notable wines. Winners also highlight staff training and educational opportunities to help customers make well-informed wine choices. A huge congratulations to Executive Sommelier Julien Beltzung and the restaurant team.  
• In October, Chef Mark Donald travelled to Maastricht to participate in the global chef congress Folie Culinaire.
• Our Wine List created by Julien Beltzung and his team was added to the Notable Wine List from the AA guide.
• Sous Chef, Alex Angelogiannis wowed judges to take the top spot in the Craft Guild National Chef of the Year competition in October. 
• In November we were delighted to announce The Glenturret Restaurant has been listed with a score of 90.5 on La Listes Top 1000 Restaurants for 2024. 

Craftsmanship, innovation, awards and sustainability continued to define the year for The Glenturret, we cannot wait to see what 2024 brings! 

Best wishes and a Happy New Year, 

The Glenturret 

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