Stills arrive at Ardgowan Distillery ready for production to begin

It’s been a strong close to the year for the new Ardgowan Distillery in Inverclyde as the team took delivery of their brand new stills and appointed a distillery manager. 

The purpose-built stills, created by McMillan Coppersmiths in Prestonpans, stand at 6.4 metres (wash still) and 5.4 metres (spirit still), respectively, and are expected to be fired for the first time early in the new year. 

The distillery will have a capacity of one million litres when production gets underway. 

Speaking to SLTN as the stills arrived on site, sales and marketing director, David Keir, said the plan for Ardgowan’s whisky is to mature its spirit in first-fill sherry hogsheads. 

“We’re hoping to get a slightly robust spirit that will stand up to that sherry,” said Keir. 

“We’ll wait and see – when we put the stills into commission, we’ll start to learn. But that’s the intention; to have quite a big spirit that’s not overwhelmed by the European oak, by the sherry casks.”

The arrival of the stills also coincided with the appointment of Laura Davies as distillery manager. 

Davies joins Ardgowan from Penderyn Distillery in Wales, where she helped that business grow its turnover from £10 million to £23m a year. 

“Ardgowan is at such an exciting point in its journey,” she said. 

“Joining at a moment when we are building the distillery and operational team from the ground up is something special. 

“I look forward to applying all that I have learned to help Ardgowan craft an exceptional single malt that will resonate with whisky lovers worldwide.”

Welcoming Davies to the team Ardgowan CEO, Martin McAdam, said: “It is a pleasure to welcome Laura to the Ardgowan family. 

“Her deep industry knowledge, from distillation to business development, aligns perfectly with our mission to establish Ardgowan as both a community cornerstone and a respected name in the global whisky market.”