The Ardgowan
state of the art
carbon-neutral
distillery
opening 2024

 
 

We have secured all the planning permissions and £20m of financing, and have now started construction of our distillery in a small valley on the ancient historic Ardgowan Estate, near the village of Inverkip on the West Coast of Scotland. It is here that we intend to create one of the world’s truly great whiskies.

The build project will be completed late in 2024 and whisky production will then commence. Initially, the distillery will produce 1,000,000 litres of malt whisky spirit per year, with the potential to increase production to 2,000,000 litres in years to come.

 
 

The Location

The Ardgowan estate is the site of a natural spring which provides water of exceptional purity and sweetness. It is also close to the sea and the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. All of which makes it the perfect place to produce an exceptional Single Malt with distinctive maritime characteristics.

A State-of-the-Art Carbon-Negative Distillery

We are building a new state-of-the-art distillery and visitor centre on the Ardgowan Estate, just 45 minutes’ drive from Glasgow city centre. Using extensive heat recovery at each stage of the production process as well as CO2 capture from fermentation, the distillery will be carbon negative. The distillery will have a cooling tower to minimise the consumption of water and eliminate the discharge of hot water into the Kip River.

We've joined forces with Edinburgh's esteemed Heriot-Watt University, Briggs of Burton, and Hydrogen Green Power to research an innovative solution for the capture and use of the carbon dioxide generated during the fermentation process. Options include use of hydrogen to convert the CO2 into methane gas which can be used for heating the stills.

Initially, we'll use mains gas to provide heat for our stills. However, our plan is to transition to hydrogen as our primary energy source within 18 months. Regardless of the energy source, we will channel our products into an anaerobic digester – a sealed container in which bacteria break down natural materials to produce valuable methane gas.

The Industry Legends Behind the Whisky

Whisky Maker, Max McFarlane, joined Lang Brothers in 1974 and has worked with iconic whisky names including Famous Grouse, Bunnahabhain, Glengoyne, Tamdhu, and Glenrothes. He was instrumental in the rise of Highland Park, and his name appeared prominently on their labelling. His exceptional contribution to Scotch Whisky was recognised in 2017 when he was inducted as a Keeper of the Quaich.

Master Distiller, Ian Macmillan, is an award-winning distiller with over 40 years’ experience who has created some of the Scotch Whisky industry’s most recognised single malts, including expressions from Bunnahabhain, Tobermory and Deanston.

Master of Wood, Stuart McPherson, joined the Ardgowan team from Edrington, bringing with him his 43 years of experience at some of the world’s most successful spirits companies, including more than a decade as Master of Wood at The Macallan.

Our Board

Roland Grain is the major shareholder in Ardgowan Distillery. He is the founder, owner and CEO of IT company, Grain GmbH, which operates in 17 countries worldwide. Roland has a long track record of investment in distilleries such as Cotswold, Manly Spirits in Australia, East London Liquor Company, and UK spirits company, Distil plc.

Martin McAdam is the CEO and founder of Ardgowan Distillery. Martin has led a number of businesses in his career and was CEO of wind energy company Airtricity in the USA, and is a non-executive director of FTSE 250 company, Greencoat UK Wind Plc.

Alan Baker, a Chartered Engineer, is the former CEO of Airtricity (Scotland), a leading renewable energy company, having previously spent 9 years with Scottish Power. Alan has been instrumental in nurturing the relationship with Ardgowan Estate, having developed energy projects with the Trustees for over 10 years.

Paul Dowling is the former CEO of Airtricity and was part of the team that sold the business to EON and SSE for €1.8 billion in 2008. With over 30 years’ experience in general management and business development, Paul is an investor and Non-Executive Director for several companies in energy and related sectors, as well as Ardgowan Distillery.

Our Distillery Team

David Keir, Sales and Marketing Director, was formerly with Ben Riach and more recently with Glenallachie. David has extensive experience in developing and building brands.

After many years in the private sector, our Production Manager Claire Stewart made the leap into Scotch whisky with experience at Loch Lomond Group and Chivas Brothers.

Jessica Skelton, with a PhD in astrophysics, leads the design and delivery of the distillery project.

Nicola Campbell, Marketing Manager, is an Islay native with a multi-generation family history in distilling. Nicola previously worked at Hunter Laing.

Sean Anderson, formerly of Heineken Plc, is the Financial Controller.

With 25 years’ experience in managing major construction projects, Stephen Caughey is our Construction Project Manager and is responsible for the delivery of the Ardgowan Distillery project.

Ardgowan Oldest : A very exclusive Single Malt

At Ardgowan, we want to give our whisky all the time it needs to become great. Many distilleries try to get their whisky to market as quickly as possible after the minimum 3-year maturation.

The longer the maturation, the more it benefits the aroma, colour and, above all, the taste of the whisky. That’s why we will only ever sell a very small amount of the first year’s production each year, which means that it will be around for at least 100 years.

This is what we’re calling Ardgowan Oldest - our oldest, and most valuable whisky. And the only way you can access this great whisky is by joining Clan Ardgowan or taking your chances of buying some at auction in years to come.

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