Scotland’s oldest working distillery, Glenturret is beautifully nestled in the foothills of Crieff. You drive through lovely golf courses nestled in the countryside before ultimately arriving at Glenturret. The distillery’s earliest rental documents date to 1763 and an honor roll of writers, poets, Prime Ministers, and skilled and dedicated distillers speak to its legacy. The white buildings standout in sharp contrast to the lush green of the surrounding countryside.

We booked the Whiskey Makers’ Tour which includes a tour of the production facility, tasting at the bar, and the opportunity to mix your own blend of Scotch. Our guide, Stuart, was incredible! His knowledge was impressive and he tailored parts of the tour to the interests of the group. It is a great opportunity to learn about Scotch whiskey production!

Stuart also lead the make your own bottle portion R and I did. We were taken to a private tasting room which was already prepared for us with aromatics samples (much of Scotch making is in the nose) and five different Scotches to sample. We rated the Scotches using a scale of 1 to 5 based on how much we liked (5) or did not like (1) them. Once we rated all five Scotches, we developed a blend of them to create our own unique Scotch and get to take home the 100 mL bottle!

We also stopped in the gift shop which contains an ample selection of Glenturret products as well as a Lalique shop. Glenturret and Lalique have developed a partnership and Lalique makes some breathtakingly beautiful glassware which beautifully showcases the creations of Glenturret. It is literally (and figuratively) a beautiful partnership. Glenturret may be a little out of the way for most itineraries but I consider it a must do. (It is absolutely worth renting a car just for this stop!) Glenturret is becoming a full service destination with a Michelin star restaurant already on site and plans underway to add lodging which will make for a perfect overnight stay. 

We returned to Edinburgh and checked in to our AirBnB before popping into Sainsbury’s for soda, water, and snacks. We planned to have dinner at The Chop House which is just beside our AirBnB but they were fully booked for the evening. R had the fantastic idea of ordering takeaway which allowed us to avoid the increasingly heavy rain and allowed me to do laundry. Side note, this AirBnB has a washing machine but no dryer. This is fairly common in the UK and a drying rack was provided in the BnB. The size of the machine is much smaller than in the US and it is common for the washer to be in one of the lower cabinets in the kitchen. All of this allowed me to settle in to watch the season premier of the Great British Bake off while in the UK! To say I am excited is an understatement! We ordered Nando’s which was delivered just before the show started and we settled in for the rest of the night.