Scotland’s newest whisky venture is the rebirth of Ardgowan Distillery, located near Inverkip, just 30 miles west of Glasgow.
Founded in 1896 in Greenock, the original distillery was on Baker Street just before the railway crossing. Shortly before the outbreak of World War II, fate changed its role from producing fine whisky for sipping, to making industrial alcohol to fuel RAF fighter planes. It came close to being a casualty of war in the Greenlock Blitz of 7th May 1941. After the war the distillery was rebuilt, going back to distil whisky until it closed in 1952.
The vision is to release a 10 to 12 years old lowland single malt having “a distinctive taste and flavour given its proximity to the sea and the Gulf Stream”.
Ardgowan is the third distillery to known as a ‘cathedral of whisky’. The other two are The Macallan Distillery in Speyside and Catedral do Whisky in Brasil .
Scandinavian longhouse architecture inspired the distillery house as it symbolises hospitality and tradition . The roof proudly recreated from 97% recycled aluminium .
Their magnificent pot stills were custom crafted by McMillan Coppersmiths in Prestonpans. They have the balanced peace of the traditional craft of distilling scotch whisky with the innovation implementing cutting edge technology to deliver carbon neutral spirit.
Partnering with Heriot Watt University and engineers Briggs of Burton, caputuring the fermented CO2 transforming it into green biomethane. This is first for Scottish Whisky distillation.
Ardgowan was officially opened 20th June 2025. The local community are very excited. Their task is very challenging because of all the rules and reg for ‘Scotch’, the spirit they are crafting can’t be sold as ‘single malt’until its been in the barrell for at least eight years. So this is a long term venture.
While we have to wait to taste their Single Malt, we can taste their blend of single malts to “raise the brand profile and support short-term cash flow”. It drew on the wealth of its River Clyde location, the birthplace of some of the world’s greatest ship. That legacy inspired the distilleries Clydebuilt brand crafted by Whisky Maker Laura Davies. The first six releases include five Blended Malts and a Single Grain.
I had the opportunity to taste Ardgowan Shipwright a limited edition blend of Highland and Speyside distilleries. A condition of the selected distilleries supply their single malts it that their identity remains secret. The taste of this blend is sweet not overpowering, with a slight coastal influence and very very light smoke. The final malts selected each in their own way contribute to acheining this profile.
Clydebuilt Shipwright is the second bottling in this award-winning series. Whisky Maker Laura Davies’s guidance is to “Take a dram of Shipwright, breathe in the waves of marzipan, Ceylon tea, dried spices and hints of tobacco – roll the dram to the front of mouth and on the tip of the tongue you’ll find orange peel, rich dark notes of black cherries, and treacle. Finally, Shipwright finishes gently, dry at first, then gliding into lingering spicy notes.”
The Oloroso casks supplied by Miquel Martin of Sanlucar de Barrameda in Spain deliver some of the the qualities required for the preffered flavour qualities, the sherry characterics but not the extra sweetness which a PX cask would deliver.
The oak is then heavily toasted: a process that unlocks the wood’s sugars and compounds. After toasting, the cask is soaked in organic Sherry for over 3 years to ensure a depth of flavour is achieved during the whisky’s 10 to 12 years maturation.
The traditional art of distilling Scotch whisky with zero sustainable technology.
Ardgowan Distillery, Bankfoot Farm, Inverkip, PA16 0DT, Scotland +447957-538231 vc@ardgowandistillery.com
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