Ardgowan Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Ardgowan Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located near Inverkip on the Ardgowan Estate, on Scotland's west coast in the Lowland region. It was founded in 2025 and is currently owned by Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited. Nicknamed the "cathedral of whisky" for its striking church-like anodised steel roof, it is one of the newest Lowland distilleries and the first new distillery in Inverclyde in generations.

History

The project was conceived around 2016 by Martin McAdam and Alan Baker, who identified Bankfoot Farm on the historic Ardgowan Estate — the site of a former Victorian gasworks — as the location for a new distillery on Scotland's Firth of Clyde coast. Public consultation in 2018 met with almost no local objection, but funding and planning took nearly a decade to secure; an initial £8.4 million investment was announced in 2021 with hopes of distilling by 2023, though ground was not broken until November 2023 as part of a wider £20 million development. Construction was completed in mid-2025, and Ardgowan officially opened on 20 June 2025, filling its first cask of new-make spirit the same day. The distillery is led by CEO and majority shareholder Roland Grain, with board chairman Paul Currie and distillery manager Laura Davies, formerly of Penderyn in Wales. Its architecture — a steel roof sloping from 20 to 14 metres — is designed to echo the shipbuilding heritage of the nearby River Clyde, a theme carried through into the distillery's whisky branding. While its own single malt matures, Ardgowan has built a following through its sister brand Clydebuilt, a range of sourced and blended Scotch whiskies named in tribute to the Clyde's shipbuilding legacy, including a bespoke "Infinity Cask" developed with Spanish cooperage José y Miguel Martín for extended maturation.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 2025
• Owner: Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited
• Status: Active
• Stills: 1 wash still, 1 spirit still (capacity for expansion to two pairs)

Core Range

Ardgowan's own single malt is still maturing and has not yet been released. In the meantime, the distillery's sister brand Clydebuilt offers a range of sourced and blended Scotch whiskies, including Clydebuilt Sailmaker (48% ABV), Clydebuilt 12 Year Old Sherry Cask Matured (46% ABV), Clydebuilt 12 Year Old 100 Proof Sherry Cask Matured (57.1% ABV), Clydebuilt Coppersmith Blended Malt, and a Clydebuilt 27 Year Old Sherried Blended Malt (41.8% ABV). All Clydebuilt releases are bottled at a minimum of 46% ABV without chill filtration or added colouring.