Glen Grant Distillery

Overview

2024 Update - At the time of writing (November 2024) the Visitor Centre at Glken Grant is closed for renovation work and there are no tours operating.

Glen Grant Distillery is situated at the north end of the village of Rothes, and is clearly signposted as you enter Rothes on the A941 from the direction of Elgin.

The distillery tour starts with a small exhibition about the Grant family and its distinctive characters, especially Major Grant who travelled widely.

Visitors are then taken to the production areas where they can see the distillery's 8 stills and the"purifiers" that were designed by the Grant family to create a lighter spirit. It isn't always operating, but you may also see the recently installed bottling plant at the distillery, not many distilleries bottle on site. After visiting a warehouse, the tour ends with a taste of the 10 yr old Glen Grant and a short (10-15min) audio-visual presentation. There are headphones for foreign languages, but the equipment was old and a bit unreliable during our visit.

Glen Grant Distillery's most distinctive feature is its excellent woodland gardens which are set in a glen behind the distillery. On a sunny day we recommend exploring them to find the Gazebo where you can have a quiet seat and enjoy the gardens.  You may even ask to have your whisky sample served to you in the gazebo.

The gardens were established using plants brought back from Africa and India by Major Grant during his service in the British army. If you walk up the scenic gorge path beside the Gazebo, you can take a look for the Major's cave complete with his private barrel of whisky.

It is a fairly standard distillery tour, but does the job as an introductory tour for the whisky novice and is good value when you consider that the tour price includes access to the extensive gardens behind the distillery.

Please Note: Children less than 8yrs old are not permitted into the production areas for safety reasons.