ScotlandLowlands

Ardgowan Distillery

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Photo by Slàinte Mhath

About

Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited is developing a Single Malt Scotch Whisky distillery project on the Ardgowan Estate near Inverkip, west of Glasgow at the mouth of the River Clyde.

A 20-year-old blended malt based on aged whisky from other distilleries called “Expedition” was released by Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited in September 2018. Expedition also contains whisky that has travelled to the South Pole and back. Only 600 bottles of this limited edition whisky has been produced. Expedition was awarded a Bronze Medal in the Scottish Field Whisky Awards and won a gold medal at the 2019 Scottish Whisky Awards .

A follow-up blended malt called Coppersmith, released as part of a range of whiskies under the trade name ‘Clydebuilt’ is now available.

Ardgowan Castle, constructed sometime in the late 15th century, is located in the grounds of the Ardgowan Estate. Prior to the construction of the castle in stone, an older wooden fort stood on the site. This fort was conceived as a coastal watch tower, built to ward off Viking marauders.

Robert the Bruce has a strong connection to Ardgowan having fought there twice, firstly on the side of the English in taking the castle, and then, prior to his victory at Bannockburn, on the sideof the Scots to defend it. Robert III granted to his son Sir John Stewart the lands of Ardgowan, Inverkip in the Barony of Renfrew on 5th May 1404.

Illicit stills and smuggling have been part of the local history of Ardgowan for hundreds of years. During the 18th and 19th centuries, smuggling was a significant part of the economy of Scotland, and the Firth of Clyde became a favourite haunt of merchants dealing in contraband. Duties imposed on goods such as tobacco, whisky and tea after The Union of the Crowns in 1707 meant that illicit trade in duty-free goods became a particularly profitable endeavour for anyone in the area with a boat.

In the 1890s Ardgowan was again associated with whisky making, the original Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited was formed and a whisky distillery was built in Baker Street in Greenock. The distillery operated through the early 1900s and was converted to make industrial alcohol before World War II. The alcohol was then used as part of a fiery mix to fuel RAF fighter planes.

The original distillery was almost totally destroyed in the Greenock Blitz of 7 May 1941, when it burned for two days, its blue flames providing a beacon for successive waves of Luftwaffe bombers. The production plant was rebuilt in a month, although the surrounding buildings were in ruins for the rest of the war. It finally ceased production in 1952.

The new Ardgowan Distillery will produce a double distilled Lowland single malt whisky. 

Distillery location

Ardgowan Estate
PA16 0DW Inverkip, Renfrewshire
Scotland Lowlands

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