Ardgowan Distillery has launched Shipwright – the second in their Clydebuilt series of limited-edition whiskies.

The premium dram – which retails at £49.99 via the distillery’s online shop – is a blend of single malts from Speyside and Highland distilleries wholly matured in first-fill Oloroso sherry casks.

The Clydebuilt series aims to celebrate the pride shown by generations of shipbuilders on the Clyde. Shipwright is non-chill filtered, non-coloured and has been bottled at 48% ABV.

It has been created by Ardgowan’s master whisky maker Max McFarlane and follows the success of the distillery’s first Clydebuilt release, Coppersmith, which won a silver medal in the 2020 Scottish Whisky Awards (in the blended malt category).

“The feedback we’ve had from Coppersmith gives us great confidence in our ability to craft premium whisky with broad appeal,” says distillery chief executive Martin McAdam.

“We see a real appetite for quality blended malt and Max has continued this theme with Shipwright – which solely comprises top drawer single malts. I think it is our best dram yet.

“Looking ahead we will continue to source the finest quality casks to develop the next release in the Clydebuilt series, and also for ultra-limited releases in our Discovery series,” McAdam says.

An exterior shot of Ardgowan Whisky Distillery visualised on its planned site near the Ardgowan Estate. Created by digital artist Tom Barnett

Distillery Plans

McAdam also spoke about the distillery’s construction plans.

“Since the moment we launched the business, our goal has always been to build a world-class distillery and visitor centre on the Ardgowan Estate near Inverkip and we are really grateful to everyone who has supported us thus far.

“Naturally, our plans have been on hold for some months due firstly to Brexit and then Covid- 19, but now I am confident we will start work later this year on our one million litre distillery, and we will be in operation by 2023.

Of course, Max as an Inverkip resident tells me he is ready to start walking to work!

“Ardgowan is en route to the islands, it’s near the sea and I think this will help us create a coastal lowland malt of real character.”

Meanwhile, McAdam and Max McFarlane plan to keep developing new whiskies and bringing them to the market – both in the UK and overseas.

“Until we have our own product on shelves it is very important to generate revenue and demonstrate we have a team that can create great whiskies and forge routes to market around the globe.

“We must never forget that 93 per cent of Scotch whisky is exported.

“We now have distribution in Belgium, The Netherlands, Taiwan and China. We hope to announce progress on distribution in Germany and the USA in the near future,”.

www.ardgowandistillery.com