The ingredients are all there. A handsome country estate with a lengthy history of grandeur, expansive private grounds and a deep bathtub designed to be – ahem - enjoyed. So far, so Saltburn. But instead of that film’s dysfunctional aristocratic family and a murderous new misfit friend, The Aberturret Estate House invites you to gather up 11 of your own family or friends, dysfunctional or otherwise, to sample the very best of Scottish hospitality.
Saltburn unsettled viewers for many reasons – the bath scene, the garden scene, the OTHER garden scene – but for those with a more design-centred mindset, it was the opulent setting that most impressed. Who doesn’t dream of lording or ladying it in their own mansion, collecting friends together for a weekend of rural pursuits, eating and drinking, perhaps even throwing your own Murder on the Dancefloor disco.
The Aberturret Estate House in Crieff, one hour from Edinburgh airport, is a good place to start. It doesn’t have a Saltburn-style maze outside nor 127 rooms inside, but after a £500,000 refurbishment, this handsome granite Dower House, originally owned by the Murray Clan, is elegant, comfortable and considerably more welcoming. Plus, unlike Saltburn, it is on The Glenturret Estate, Scotland’s oldest working whisky distillery which includes The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant, newly awarded its second Michelin star.
The Murray Clan began making whisky at The Glenturret in 1763, at one time supplying The Famous Grouse. In 2019, the estate was purchased by a Swiss partnership between the Lalique Group and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss, co-owner of Chelsea football club. They added it to their combined roster of high-quality hospitality venues and French vineyards and invested heavily.
The new owners released their first new single malt whisky in 2020, The Glenturret, bottled it in seductive glassware designed by Lalique and within two years their entry level Triple Wood won “Best Whisky” at the International Wine & Spirit Awards. They have now added a gin, The Aberturret, and while still describing themselves as a “small volume boutique brand”, produce around 150,000 bottles of whisky each year, with seven different ‘expressions’ (versions) selling from £62 to £5,000 a bottle. True connoisseurs, or those with super-deep pockets, can buy a limited edition bottle for £80,000.
They didn’t stop there. At the heart of the estate, adjoining the distillery, they added The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant. Scotland has only two restaurants that have been awarded much-coveted two Michelin stars and both are within a twelve mile radius. Since February this year, Glenturret joins Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles Hotel with the accolade, making the rural region not only the gateway to the Highlands but also an outstanding gastronomic destination.
The Aberturret Estate House is the final piece of the estate’s jigsaw, newly opened for exclusive hire to welcome up to 12 guests, a short stroll from the distillery and restaurant. It has six bedrooms, all ensuite with the copper bath of dreams positioned by the window in the main bedroom, a far more aspirational and enticing option than the Saltburn bath. Downstairs a grand dining room is matched by informal sitting rooms, a cosy study and a contemporary AGA-centred kitchen breakfast room.
The design is a homage to Scotland without any tartan-overload clichés. Artwork, all available to purchase, is on loan from The Fine Arts Society of Edinburgh, tactile fabrics and throws come from Bute Fabrics, Harris Tweed and Lovat Mill, and select furniture was bought from Edinburgh-based Georgian Antiques and Catalog.
It’s all very much calm comfort inside and Arcadian bliss outside. The house management team can whip up fishing, sailing or golfing expeditions (Gleneagles has three championship golf courses). Try out falconry or archery, spot red squirrels and deer in the three acre gardens or explore the Highlands, tour the distillery or have an in-house whisky tasting, learning how they aim to be carbon neutral by 2030.
To live out your Glenturret version of the Saltburn idyll, think days of adventure in the Perthshire countryside followed by evenings of fine dining and roaring fires with a glass of whisky in hand, a Lalique glass of course. Lalique crystal, one of the most celebrated French crystal companies, featured in scenes in Saltburn and The Glenturret has the only Lalique showroom in Scotland. It’s just another way to bring your Saltburn fantasies come to life.
Aberturret Estate House is open for bookings now; to check availability and packages, please contact aberturrethouse@theglenturret.com. Prices for exclusive hire start at £3,000 per night.
