Tuesday, November 14, 2023

CONSTRUCTION BEGINS ON NEW £20M ARDGOWAN DISTILLERY

The Inverclyde based Ardgowan Distillery, has announced that it has broken ground on the first phase of its £20 million “cathedral of whisky”.

The first build phase on the new zero-carbon whisky distillery, which will be carried out by the Inverkeithing based Muir construction – and expected to last 12 months, will see the completion of the distillery’s main production elements, including core groundworks, steelwork and distillation equipment.

Construction begins on new £20M Ardgowan Distillery

The innovative distillery design uses low environmental impact composite cladding, timber and steel materials to create a modern Nordic long hall, symbolising resurrection and rising from the ashes of the former Ardgowan Distillery in Greenock, which was bombed during the 1941 Blitz.

The distillery has partnered with Heriot-Watt University and engineers Briggs of Burton to develop technology to capture all of the CO2 in its fermentation process and transform it into green biomethane - a technique which has never been used in a Scotch whisky distillery before.

This first build phase represents the culmination of almost 7 years’ careful planning for the distillery founders, marking a huge milestone in the ergonomic, energy efficient distillery and visitor experience, which will create up to 47 local jobs and produce up to 1m litres of whisky per year.

Commenting on the news, Martin McAdam, Ardgowan CEO, said: “It’s been almost seven years in the planning, spanning Brexit, a global pandemic, and five Prime Ministers. But now, finally, we have started construction. Muir have been integral in constructing some of the finest Scotch Whisky distilleries open today and are at the forefront of several pioneering Scottish sustainability projects. We welcome their expertise as we embark on the first major phase of our state-of-the-art distillery.”

Having released a selection of its own bottlings, including its award-winning Clydebuilt range, Ardgowan is due to start production on its own whisky at the new distillery in 2024.


Posted by Steve Rush