Famous Grouse attraction to Land

Highland Distillers is to open a £2.5m Famous Grouse visitor experience, designed by Land Design Studio for a six-figure sum, at the end of May.

The Famous Grouse Experience will feature interactive displays and activities based on the Famous Grouse ad campaign launched by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO in 1996. Visitors will also experience the whisky manufacturing process.

Mountain Creative Design is involved in internal signage and ‘some graphics work’, says a Highland Distillers spokeswoman.

The attraction is at Scotland’s oldest working distillery in Glenturret, which comprises five buildings and includes a shop and restaurant. The distillery previously featured a ‘traditional’ 25-minute presentation on distilling.

‘The client wanted a new way of understanding whisky and the Famous Grouse brand. They wanted something that wasn’t just about the manufacturing process or the site, but a brand experience,’ says Land Design Studio creative director Peter Higgins.

Land has designed a pavilion to house a ‘pre-show’ which teaches visitors about ‘nosing’, a precursor to the whisky blending process, and how to create a commercial.

An old building houses the main visitor experience based around the AMV commercials.

This ‘allows you to walk into a TV ad, which wraps around you as you enter. It is an interactive, immersive brand experience using sensory techniques. So, you may see the grouse ice-skating and find yourself on ice,’ Higgins explains.