ARDGOWAN DISTILLERY CELEBRATES DELIVERY OF WHISKY STILLS

Stills pipped onto Ardgowan Distillery site

Distil plc (AIM:DIS), owner of premium drinks brands Blackwoods Gin and Vodka, RedLeg Spiced Rum, TRØVE Botanical Vodka and Blavod Black Vodka, is pleased to note that Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited (“Ardgowan”) took delivery of its whisky stills on Monday 4 November 2024. 

The team invited guests from the local area and supporters of the project to site to celebrate the significant milestone in the Ardgowan journey. Those in attendance, including Distil investor and Non-Executive Director, Roland Grain, and Blackwoods’ brand manager, James Evans, were lucky enough to witness the gargantuan 6.4m, 12,500-litre wash still, and 5.4m, 9,000-litre spirit still settle into their new homes.

Each of the copper stills, featuring a distinct design exclusive to Ardgowan Distillery, has been hand-crafted by McMillan Coppersmiths with over two million hammer blows used to smooth and shape the copper. The final touches to the spirit still alone took over 140 hours, or 18 days, of dedicated craftsmanship.

The stills will allow Ardgowan to produce over 1 million litres of new make spirit every year. The stills, now in place, will undergo a period of commissioning, with the first distillation expected in the spring.

Spirit still being lowered into position

Sustainability has been at the forefront of the project, and the wash still is equipped with a cutting-edge thermal vapour recompression head recovery system, in which 315 precision-engineered tubes capture and recycle energy, maximising every drop and taking a big step towards the distillery’s net-zero emissions goal. This technology, alongside CO2 capture from fermentation, means the distillery will eventually become carbon negative, and the distillery building itself showcases this commitment:

-       The roof is constructed from 97% recycled aluminium

-       Steel trusses contain 64% recycled steel

-       Insulation is made entirely from post-consumer recycled plastics

Martin McAdam, CEO of Ardgowan Distillery, emphasised the significance of this development: "This occasion is critically important to our company, it is a measure of how far we have progressed. The stills will be installed in the coming days, and the process of bringing Ardgowan Distillery to life now begins. I would like to thank the team at McMillan Coppersmiths. Creating our beautiful stills requires amazing skills, and they are truly works of art. The coppersmiths have not just shaped metal but are weaving centuries of Scottish whisky-making tradition into every curve and contour of these beautiful vessels."

Distil invested £3m into the Ardgowan Distillery project in 2021 in the form of a convertible loan to support the development of the new Malt Whisky distillery. The strategic investment provides the Company with a long-term interest in a growing premium category, ability to develop our own Malt Scotch, as well as providing a home for Blackwoods Gin with its own distillery, Gin school and visitors’ centre.

Blackwoods production has already commenced on site, and fit-out of the brand home experience is underway. Visitors were given a preview of the brand home at the Ardgowan Open Day in September, as well as taste and purchase the range, including the exclusive release of the limited-edition Blackwoods First Drop – the first gin to have been distilled at Ardgowan.

Loading of the stills