On March 1st 2017 Inverclyde Council approved plans for a new distillery to be built near Inverkip in the lowlands. I remember talking about this distillery in 2023 during a live stream in Instagram, when construction work started.
The Ardgowan Distillery takes its name from an old distillery founded in 1896, located just 10 kilometres (about 6.2 miles) away. Unlike the original distillery, which produced grain whisky, the new distillery will be dedicated to the production of malt whisky. A curious fact is that the original distillery was one of the few distilleries which suffered an attack during World War II. It is known that it produced industrial alcohol, which made it a target for bombing during the Greenock Blitz.
The original funding plan was £17m and construction was due to start in 2019. The project is now underway with over £20m in backing, and the distillery is set to become a new landmark for whisky enthusiasts in the Lowlands, with a projected annual production of 1 million litres of whisky and the capacity to double to 2 million in the future.
However, construction work did not begin until 2023. In the meantime, the project had been entrusted to Willie Phillips, former managing director of The Macallan, who said at the time: “I’m very excited about the idea of creating a new single malt whisky in the Lowlands, in this part of Scotland near Irvine, where I spent a lot of my youth.” Muir Construction was eventually awarded the role of main contractor in collaboration with three other major companies. While the stills were ordered from McMillan Coppersmith in Prestonpans, near Edinburgh, and were delivered on 4 November 2024.
Like all distilleries in Scotland, they have to follow the plan to be carbon neutral by 2040 (if you want to read more about the SWA’s net-zero carbon goals click here) and the Ardgowan distillery is no exception. Its design includes state-of-the-art technology including heat recovery, water conservation and carbon capture initiatives. In partnership with Heriot-Watt University and Hydrogen Green Power, the aim is to significantly reduce the carbon footprint and eventually achieve carbon neutrality as mandated by the SWA guideline.
Finally last month, January 2025, the installation of the Mash Tun was completed, with over 4,200 metres of pipes installed throughout the facility and almost 6 kilometres of wiring connecting 300 precision instruments to the central control system. Every day the distilleries become more sophisticated, more industrial and more sustainable, regulating all critical parameters from one dashboard.
PThe commissioning phase of the individual systems will soon arrive. This marks an exciting transition as we approach the start of distillery operations. A fusion between the traditional art of single malt with modern innovation, guaranteeing whisky production for years to come. Congratulations to Ardgowan Distillery. We hope to get a chance to visit your distillery soon.
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