A Whisky Worthy of Celebration

To commemorate this incredible achievement, our Master Blender, Max McFarlane, has created a Blended Malt Scotch Whisky that reflects the dedication and excellence synonymous with Greenock Morton FC. The “150th Anniversary Blended Malt” combines a unique selection of malts, resulting in a whisky as distinctive as the club’s legacy.

Tasting notes include:

• Nose: A delicate, floral, and lightly tannic aroma featuring stem ginger, toffee apples, Earl Grey tea, and new leather.

• Palate: Dry and textured with hints of olive oil, malted wheat cereal, and creamy porridge drizzled with caramelised brown sugar.

• Finish: Subtle notes of dry tobacco for a balanced and memorable conclusion.

A Shared Commitment to Excellence

At Ardgowan Distillery, we are passionate about creating world-class whisky and fostering meaningful partnerships within our community. Collaborating with Greenock Morton FC for this anniversary release has been a privilege and a testament to the shared values of craftsmanship, dedication, and local pride.

We’re honoured to play a role in this historic celebration and look forward to raising a glass with fans as we continue building connections between the distillery and our community.

Her arrival coincides with the recent delivery of Ardgowan’s state-of-the-art copper stills, crafted by McMillan Coppersmiths Ltd. of Prestonpans, and marks an exciting step forward as the team prepares for production to commence in Spring 2025.

Nestled on the historic Ardgowan Estate in Inverclyde, the distillery aims to blend traditional craftsmanship with innovative practices to produce extraordinary single malt whiskies. Laura joins the team following a highly successful tenure at The Welsh Whisky Company (Penderyn), where she played a central role in growing the company’s turnover from £10 million to £23 million over seven years. Her responsibilities included overseeing operations across three production sites and visitor centres.

In her role as Company Accountant, Ms. Gaffney will be responsible for overseeing the company’s financial strategy and operations, with a focus on driving profitability and maximizing shareholder value.

Ms. Gaffney is a native of Port Glasgow and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from Glasgow Caledonian University and is a Chartered Accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants Scotland (ICAS).

Speaking on her appointment, Paula commented:

“I am excited to take on the role of Company Accountant at Ardgowan. The company has a strong track record of growth, and I look forward to leveraging my expertise to help drive even greater profitability and position the company for long-term success. This is a wonderful project for Inverclyde and as a local I am so pleased to be part of this fantastic endeavour.”

Ms. Gaffney joins Ardgowan with over 7 years of post-qualified experience, including 6 years in industry. Most recently, she served as the Finance Business Partner for the EMEA region at Peak Scientific, where she delivered monthly management accounts, prepared statutory financial statements, and led the EMEA budgeting process.

Ardgowan Distillery Chief Financial Officer, Don Woodward, added:

“We are thrilled to welcome Paula to our team as Company Accountant,” said Don Woodward, CFO, Ardgowan Distillery “Her extensive experience in financial reporting, commercial sales support, audit, compliance, and forecasting make her the ideal candidate to help guide our company’s financial success.”

Ardgowan Distillery is implementing extensive heat recovery and heat storage as part of the whisky-making process. The distillery has already partnered with Heriot Watt University and engineers Briggs of Burton to develop technology to capture and repurpose the CO2 in its fermentation process.

Ardgowan expects to create almost 50 jobs for the local area and, upon completion, will have the capacity to produce up to one million litres of premium whisky per year.

With more than 25 years’ experience building premium spirits brands, including Bruichladdich, The GlenDronach and also as a Founding Director of The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, new Sales Director David Keir brings deep understanding and knowledge of the Scotch whisky industry to the net-zero designed distillery, set to become operational in 2024.

Speaking on his appointment, David commented:

“With construction now underway, it is great to be joining the company at such an integral stage of the project.

“As we wait for Ardgowan Single Malt to come of age I look forward to working with the team and developing our existing multi-award winning brands; Clydebuilt & Inverdarach. Growing Ardgowan Distillery’s existing network of distributors across select global markets will be a priority, with positive discussions already underway with potential partners in the USA, Asia and Europe.

“Our UK home market is also very important. Specialist retailers have had a challenging time of late and the recent duty increase has added to this. However they perform a crucial role for emerging brands like Ardgowan Distillery and for discerning consumers who like to seek out something a little different. I’ll be focused on building a strong route to market with these retailers, supporting them wherever we can.”

David joins a team of industry stalwarts currently backing the distillery, including ex-Macallan master of wood, Stuart Macpherson and master whisky maker, Max McFarlane, previous lead whisky maker at Edrington with over 40 years industry experience.

His appointment comes in tandem with further growth for Ardgowan Distillery’s sales team, with the appointment of Customer Service and Production Manager, Claire Stewart, previously of Chivas Brothers.

Ardgowan Distillery Chief Executive, Martin McAdam, added:

“David comes to us with a fantastic background, bolstering everything we do. Having a portfolio of experience as extensive and successful as David’s, we look forward to utilising his skills to help position Ardgowan at the forefront of the Scotch whisky industry.”

Ardgowan Distillery will implement cutting-edge technologies and partnerships with new technology developers to deliver a carbon-neutral spirit.

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 at a Scottish whisky distillery before.

Ardgowan expects to create almost 50 jobs for the local area and, upon completion, will have the capacity to produce one million litres of premium whisky per year.

With 30 years’ experience founding successful independent distilleries including the Isle of Arran Distillers and The Lakes Distillery, Paul Currie brings an extensive understanding of the whisky industry to state of the art, net-zero designed Ardgowan distillery.

Speaking on his appointment, Paul commented:

“There has been great change in the malt whisky industry over the last 30 years, as many new independent distilleries have opened. I have been fortunate to have been involved as co-founder of two of these, Isle of Arran and The Lakes, both of which continue to grow and prosper.

“A new wave of distilleries are now opening both in Scotland and in the rest of the world and Ardgowan Distillery is set to be at the forefront of these, with a terrific location, innovative ideas and an outstanding team.

“From the cutting-edge technologies helping the distillery reach its sustainability goals to the commitment to quality made through Ardgowan’s investment in its unique Infinity casks, everything to date has been planned to the highest standard.

“With construction now underway on site, it is a pivotal time to be joining the team. I am particularly looking forward to supporting the development of the Clan Ardgowan programme which allows whisky lovers from all over the world to become part of Ardgowan Distillery’s journey. I am also enthusiastic about bringing my knowledge and experience to the team to help Ardgowan to become a leading single malt brand.”

Paul joins a team of notable industry names currently backing the distillery including ex-Macallan Master of Wood, Stuart Macpherson and Master Whisky Maker, Max McFarlane, previous Lead Whisky Maker at Edrington with over 40 years industry experience.

His appointment comes in tandem with the recent appointment of Sales and Marketing Director, David Keir, a Founding Director of The GlenAllachie Distillers Company with over 25 years industry experience.

Ardgowan Distillery Chief Executive, Martin McAdam, added:

“As a start-up distillery it is so important for us to be able to attract great people. With Paul’s experiences from both Isle of Arran and The Lakes Distillery, he is someone who has built distillery businesses from the ground-up it is a real pleasure to bring him on board as our Chairman.

We share a lot in common with Lakes Distillery and what Paul and his team have done at Lakes is similar to the visitor experience that we wish to bring to Ardgowan Distillery.”

Ardgowan Distillery is implementing extensive heat recovery and heat storage as part of the whisky-making process. The distillery has already partnered with Heriot Watt University and engineers Briggs of Burton to develop technology to capture and repurpose the CO2 in its fermentation process.

Ardgowan expects to create almost 50 jobs for the local area and, upon completion, will have the capacity to produce up to one million litres of premium whisky per year.

Inverkeithing based Muir construction will deliver the first build phase which is expected to last 12 months and will see the completion of the distillery’s main production elements, including core groundworks, steelwork, and distillation equipment, enabling us to begin producing its own spirit from 2024.

This first build phase represents the culmination of almost 7 years’ careful planning for the our 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 premium whisky per year.

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 ambitious plans for the new net-zero distillery include cutting-edge technologies and partnerships with new technology developers to deliver a truly carbon-neutral spirit. 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.

Martin McAdam, 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.”

Muir Construction, part of Muir Group, is established in distillery construction, previously working with a number of major distillery companies, including William Grant & Sons, Distell and Glenmorangie. They have also worked on a number of key sustainability projects, including the Queens Quay Energy Centre in Glasgow and Celtic Renewables.

To date, a total funding package of £24m has been secured for the project, with the distillery recently raising in excess of £3.6m via a convertible loan note from shareholders.

The main components of any whisky are ethanol and water, usually found in a ratio of around 40:60, but it is actually the minor components that give the spirit its unique characteristics. Despite composing <1% of the total volume, these minor components are responsible for both aroma and flavour.

All molecules can be classed as water-loving (hydrophilic), water-hating (hydrophobic) or a bit of both (amphiphilic).

Ethanol is made up of two carbons (-CH2-CH3) attached to an oxygen (-OH) and so is one of these ‘all-rounders’.

The -OH (hydroxyl) part loves water, but the two carbons would prefer to keep as much distance between themselves and water as possible.

To achieve this at low concentrations, the ethanol molecules will line up at the surface of water within a glass, with the –OH pointing towards the water, and the carbon chain sticking up into the air.

At higher concentrations, things get even more interesting! Once there are too many ethanol molecules to fit in a monolayer, the ethanol starts to fall out into the main body of water and can form tight balls (or micelles) to that force the water to the outside and keep the hydrophobic chains on the inside. When this happens, some of the lovely, tasty aromatic components rush to be inside and away from the water too. (Fun fact: this is exactly how washing up liquid helps cleaning up greasy dishes!)

Once inside the micelle, a molecule can’t evaporate to reach your nose so the bouquet is hidden and, on tasting, can be rolled right past your taste receptors.

But what about adding water? As you add water, the opposite happens, with the number of micelles dropping and the flavour compounds being forced out into the water. At that point, the only way out is up – with nowhere to hide, all components are presented for your enjoyment of a full burst of smell and flavour (you can check out our blog on chill filtration for more information on how related processes can affect flavour).

Recent computational studies have even suggested that it is the monolayer itself that alters flavour as it coats your tongue, but the authors do note that this was never put to the taste test!

So after all this, what is the answer? Well, here at Ardgowan we have concluded (after extensive testing) that the ‘correct’ way to take your favourite dram is…simply that which brings you the most enjoyment.

Slàinte Mhath,

Dr. Kate McAdam, PhD

B.A. (Mod) MedChem