Interview: John Laurie, MD of Crieff whisky brand The Glenturret, on carving out a craftsmanship-led edge

“I think the resilience you get from running a small business is actually what's allowed me to operate the [company] I do,” says John Laurie, who is blending his entrepreneurial skills and love of whisky in his role as MD of The Glenturret.

The Scotch single malt producer, operating out of Crieff in Perthshire, lays claim to being Scotland’s oldest working distillery, with records dating back 260 years. However, it is simultaneously something of a newbie in its current incarnation, having in 2020 launched a revamped range created by the brand’s whisky-maker Bob Dalgarno after a change of ownership.

The Glenturret was formerly part of The Famous Grouse and The Macallan parent company Edrington, but now 50 per cent of it is owned by Lalique, described as “one of the crown jewels of the French crystal industry", and the other half by Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss.

And it has now again rolled out the whisky barrel with the new release of its Core Collection for 2023, comprising eight signature whiskies. “The passion, time and energy that has gone into each of the exceptional expressions they have created is something that myself, and our whole team at the distillery are incredibly proud of,” Laurie said of the release.

He explains that the seeds of his journey into the whisky industry were planted when he was taken to a show focused on Scotland’s national drink, “where I fell in love with the stories, I fell in love with the brands, and I started to enjoy the liquid”.

His working life had started in exercise, including managing health clubs, and, with a view to a career change and a “hunger” to get into the whisky industry, he then undertook an MBA at the University of Edinburgh, then starting and selling two firms, one focused on fitness, and the other on catering.

The executive then became general manager of the Famous Grouse Experience, at what is now the Glenturret facility, and got the latter brand ready for acquisition, unknotting it from the corporate structure and setting it up as a standalone business. He evidently impressed Lalique, who wanted him to stay on in the MD seat.

Artisan

Laurie says that at a whisky show many years ago, 'I fell in love with the stories, I fell in love with the brands, and I started to enjoy the liquid'. Picture: Robert Michael Wilson.

Now, The Glenturret’s range is sold in artistic, artisanal Lalique bottles made at its factory in France, while the distillery at Crieff – surrounded by verdant scenery, dramatic mountains, and tranquil stretches of water – also has a Lalique boutique and Michelin-starred restaurant onsite.

In terms of The Glenturret’s whiskies, this year’s annual release for the first time includes a 35-year-old expression, of which just 185 bottles have been available. It follows the launches of Eight Decades By James Turrell, a collaboration with the eponymous American artist, with only bottles 80 made, and selling at £80,000 apiece; and The Glenturret Prowess, the second in the Trinity series after Provenance (the third being Passion) and comprising 320 bottles retailing at just under £12,000 each.

As for how these high-end offerings sit alongside the fraught cost of living, Laurie says the whisky brand feels it has something for everyone in its range, and has products starting at £50 per bottle as well as much larger price tags.

“There is an audience there that really loves single malt Scotch. I think in Scotland, we're really guilty of not recognising what we've got. And what we have is an incredibly sought-after product, that can only be made in our country, can only be bottled in our country, can only be warehoused in our country,” he says. “And therefore all the jobs related to the production of those products stay in this country.”

The brand has just released its Core Collection for 2023. Picture: contributed.

The MD praises the Scotch Whisky Association (SWA) ensuring the protection of the product’s provenance, and the trade body says the spirit must mature in oak casks in Scotland for at least three years.

Laurie also points that not everybody is at the sharp end of the cost-of-living crisis on a global scale, adding that the collaboration with James Turrell, for example, is creating “something that will be treasured and cherished by its owner”, and an example of an offering bringing in a new audience “from the art world, rather than from the whisky world”.

Confident

Looking ahead, the business is planning to create a new warehouse, with planning permission paperwork handed over, and “we are optimistic it is going to create jobs for the area", says Laurie, who regarding issues affecting the Scotch trade such as the controversial deposit return scheme cites a lack of communication with “the industry that's most heavily affected”.

The Glenturret is also now Butterfly Mark certified for “embedded, measurable sustainability practices”. Laurie also says the SWA has asked whisky distilleries to be net zero by 2040, and The Glenturret “will certainly be there on time”.

Additionally, the bijou whisky-maker has common ground with Lalique in stressing a dependence on the local environment including resources such as water, as well as craftsmanship. “There is a link there that makes that collaboration authentic,” Laurie says of the Auld Alliance-style tie-up. “And sometimes when brand collaborations happen they're not authentic, and are seen to be commercial, but there are shared values here.

“One of the massive privileges about working with a brand that's considered successful is that it generates more opportunities. The more opportunities you get, the more opportunities come to you – we've got some incredible world-renowned brands keen to work with us, we've got more artists keen to work with us. We've got more markets in the world that really want to get hold of The Glenturret,” he adds, coming after Scotch whisky exports amounted to £6.2 billion in 2022, according to the SWA.

Laurie adds: "We have some really exciting challenges ahead of us that we're looking forward to get through. There will be more of the exciting new products, the glamorous products there, but what will always be there is the core range whisky… so that all consumers can enjoy The Glenturret.”