Glasgow Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Glasgow Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Hillington, in the south-west of Glasgow, Lowland, Scotland. It was founded in 2015 and is currently owned by The Glasgow Distillery Company, its founding partners. It was the first independent single malt whisky distillery to open in Glasgow in more than a century, and takes its flagship whisky's name, 1770, from the year the city's original licensed distillery was established.

History

The Glasgow Distillery Company was formed in 2012 by Liam Hughes, Mike Hayward and Ian McDougall, three friends with backgrounds in the drinks and finance industries who set out to bring whisky production back to Glasgow after more than a century's absence — the last distillery in the city, Strathclyde-adjacent Kinclaith, ceased malt production in 1975 and Glasgow had been without an active whisky distillery since 1902. After securing private investment, the founders built a distillery on an industrial estate in Hillington, near the M8 motorway on the city's south-western edge, and production of new-make spirit began on 20 March 2015. The distillery draws its process water from Loch Katrine in the Trossachs, the same source historically used to supply Glasgow's drinking water. Alongside whisky, the company also produces Makar Glasgow Gin and, from 2019, Banditti Club spiced rum, using the same site and stills to diversify revenue while its whisky matures. The distillery's single malt, released under the 1770 Glasgow name, and its blended malt Malt Riot (named after the 1725 Glasgow Malt Tax Riots) established the company's reputation, and it was named Distillery of the Year at the 2020 Scottish Whisky Awards.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 2015 (company formed 2012; first distillation 20 March 2015)
• Owner: The Glasgow Distillery Company (independent)
• Status: Active
• Stills: Two wash stills and two spirit stills (four copper pot stills, named Tara, Mhairi, Margaret and Frances)

Core Range

The distillery's core whisky range is bottled under the 1770 Glasgow Single Malt name, matured primarily in first-fill ex-bourbon casks with some releases finished in virgin oak, and typically bottled non-chill filtered. The range includes the flagship 1770 Glasgow Single Malt alongside peated and triple-distilled variants. The distillery also produces Malt Riot, a blended malt Scotch whisky built around the 1770 single malt. Specific ABV figures vary by release and are best confirmed against current bottlings.