With our sixth round of trading samples starting to reach each other’s doorsteps, it’s time for me to review another obscure, Scottish distillery: Glenturret. This Highland distillery bills itself as Scotland’s oldest distillery (yeah, it’s heavily contested by a few other places). It was officially founded in 1775, but it’s been said that illegal distilling has taken place at this location since 1717. Smugglers would take turns making their “hooch” while lookouts camped out on opposing hillsides surrounding the location, keeping an eye out for British taxmen who were always prowling the area for illegal activity. In the very early days, the distillery was actually called Hosh, which meant “foot”- named this because all the materials needed and product made were carried in and out by workers “on foot”. Glenturret is also semi-famous for its feline caretakers, called “mousers”. The most famous cat, named Towser the Mouser, is actually in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the most mouse kills by a single feline. It is estimated that he slayed almost 29,000 mice during his tenure at the distillery from 1963-1987. The visitor center even has a bronze statue in his honor. There are currently 2 “mousers” on duty- Glen and Turret. You gotta like the quirky stories and illicit history for this small distillery. Glenturret is currently operating with only 2 stills and their annual output is only 340k liters per year. Half of their spirit goes into the single malt line and the other half helps supply The Famous Grouse blend. This particular bottle is from Gordon & MacPhail and is bottled at 46%. I don’t have the bottle in front of me, because it was supplied by a friend, but based on my tasting notes I’d say it was aged in a refilled sherry cask. It’s a pale yellow in the taster and is pretty oily while not giving up much leg action. The nose started off sherry-forward, but those notes disappeared rather quickly and were replaced with molasses and toffee with some oak. Then, an earthy funk note wandered in and made me do a double take. Wet hay and band aid funk with hints of grassy fields. It wasn’t off-putting, just unexpected. The palate was creamy, caramel toffee and mixed nuts before yielding to hints of sherry and some harsh pepper notes. The finish was medium and hot (for 46%), went from oily to somewhat dry with bits of sherry and that band aid funk coming on the very back end. Overall, it’s not anything super intense. The funkiness was a surprise, but the full creamy mouth feel and toffee influence made it mostly enjoyable. I’d like to see what this stuff tastes like with another 7-8 years on it and from a first fill sherry or oak cask. Could be great stuff, I think. This one was middle of the road IMO. A big thanks to @Telex for supplying this one. A cool, obscure distillery that I wouldn’t have ever tried if it weren’t for our little tour. 3-3.25 stars for this dram. Cheers, my friends. * A+ and gold stars for everyone that read all the way through this one. I hope it made for an enjoyable read.