Latest news with #Ardgowan
The Herald Scotland
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
St Andrews golf hotel Ardgowan to re-open next year
Work will include consolidation of all accommodation into one connected building, and a rear extension that will increase capacity from 36 to 44 boutique rooms. The bar and restaurant will also be expanded from 44 to more than 70 seats. The Herald Scottish Golf Survey 2025 is still open but the deadline is coming soon, with every club and course in the country invited to submit their views. If your club or organisation has not already received an invitation to take part, please contact The property is owned by Wirefox, a private investment company based in Northern Ireland, which purchased the three-star Ardgowan in 2022 through its Marram Hotels division. Other properties in the Marram portfolio include the former Ducks Inn in East Lothian, which re-opened last summer as The Leddie, and the Bushmills Inn in Northern Ireland. Set up in 2014, Wirefox is a real estate investment and development company headed up by Bernard Eastwood, the grandson of legendary Irish bookmarker and boxing promoter Barney Eastwood who died in 2020. Marram describes its collection as hotels "designed by and for golf lovers". The Ardgowan's new new look has been developed in collaboration with local St Andrews architects RKA, alongside Scottish interior design studio ICA and the Crown Creative brand design agency. Read more: Kathryn McNairn will continue as the hotel's general manager, having joined Marram last year. Upon its re-opening, the hotel is expected to create up to 50 new jobs. 'We're incredibly proud to officially break ground on what will become a cornerstone of The Marram Collection in the heart of St Andrews," Ms McNairn said. "This project has been expertly designed to honour the heritage of the site while introducing a new standard of boutique hotel to the town. "This transformation will create a welcoming retreat that blends warmth, comfort and considered design for golfers, locals, and visitors alike. We look forward to unveiling a space that not only celebrates the spirit of St Andrews but also supports the local community through new opportunities and meaningful partnerships.'
Daily Record
25-04-2025
- Business
- Daily Record
Scotland's newest whisky distillery to open near Glasgow with bold new flavours
A sleek new whisky distillery just under an hour from Glasgow has announced its official opening date. Ardgowan Distillery, located in Inverkip near Greenock , will open its doors on Friday, June 20, becoming the latest addition to Scotland's lowland whisky scene. The launch marks a major milestone for the team behind the project, who describe the moment as the result of years of 'vision, determination and hard work'. Running from 3pm to 7pm, the event will invite visitors to explore the striking new distillery, meet the people behind the whisky, and enjoy an afternoon of live music, street food and top-notch drams, Glasgow Live reported. One of the highlights will be the unveiling of the Ardgowan Infinity Cask, a bespoke vessel designed for ultra long ageing. 'At the heart of it all are our signature Infinity Casks, a testament to our dedication to creating truly great whisky,' the team said. Crafted to mature whisky over decades, the cask reflects Ardgowan's bold and thoughtful approach to flavour, time and legacy. The opening will also see the debut of a new range of Clydebuilt bottlings, available in limited numbers for the first time. These whiskies, which are matured and blended on site, are described as being 'crafted with the same care and character that will define our single malt. "Predominantly sherry led and always bottled at a minimum of 46 percent, natural colour and no chill filtration – these whiskies are the forerunner of what's to come from Ardgowan Distillery.' Led by Distillery Manager Laura Davies, the team prides itself on precision and patience. 'We craft exceptional whisky with pure spring water, malted barley, yeast, and the expertise of our skilled whisky makers – but above all, with time,' they added. 'We prioritise quality, ensuring every cask is matured to perfection before bottling.' Beyond the whisky itself, the building has also been designed to impress. 'The Ardgowan Distillery build was a real feat of engineering, resulting in a striking and truly unique site that will become a landmark for whisky lovers,' the distillery states. Sustainability is central to the design, with clever efficiencies like Thermal Vapour Recompression (TVR) helping to reduce its carbon footprint . Initially, it will produce around one million litres of spirit per year, with capacity to grow to two million in time. The distillery benefits from its setting on the Ardgowan Estate, drawing on natural spring water and coastal air. 'Ardgowan Estate's natural spring provides pure, sweet water, ideal for whisky production. "Situated close to the sea and the warming Gulf Stream, our distillery benefits from a unique maritime environment, giving our whiskies distinctive coastal character.' First approved in March 2017, Ardgowan Distillery takes its name from a long-lost distillery nearby, originally founded in 1896. New CEO Roland Grain said: 'This is an incredibly proud moment for everyone involved with Ardgowan Distillery. I'm honoured to lead the team as we build on Scotland's whisky legacy. We can't wait to welcome visitors to experience our craft first-hand when we officially open this June.' More information about the opening day is available on the Ardgowan website .
The Herald Scotland
23-04-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scotch whisky distiller reveals new boss as launch nears
The Austrian entrepreneur, who has held a majority shareholding in the distillery since 2021, has succeeded Martin McAdam, an engineer by background who has steered the project through its construction. Asked why he had moved into the chief executive hot-seat, Mr Grain, who runs a drinks distribution company in his native Austria, felt it was important to oversee the initial production phase at the distillery, when cash flow is critical. And he revealed that the ultimate overall investment in the distillery will be close to £30 million, around double the outlay initially forecast after costs soared during the construction process. 'Not everything [has been] spent on the distillery itself,' Mr Grain told The Herald. 'It is a former farm building, so we had to renovate houses [and build] visitor centre areas. We have also invested in a gin distillery, which is working or Blackwoods Gin. We have also already bought a lot of casks, which is part of the investment.' 'It's 100% more [investment] than we believed.' Read more: Mr Grain explained why costs had soared during the development of the distillery, with the price of energy and other inputs having risen sharply in the wake of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He said this necessitated the investment a further £2m in energy efficiency projects 'because the payback is so fast'. 'Now it [energy cost] is a little bit lower after we spent the money," Mr Grain said. 'Also, the production costs are higher than planned. The cheap days of whisky producing have been over for some time.' Now construction of the distillery is complete, Mr Grain said whisky making will be restored to the Inverclyde area for the first time since the Second World War 'any day now'. 'We are commissioning through everything currently and fixing the last, final steps," he said. "In the coming weeks, the first distillation will [take place].' While some new distilleries release new-make whisky as soon as they are able to, even if just to satisfy collectors, Ardgowan will be taking its time. Mr Grain explained the company will be using Infinity Casks, which are 'relatively large and lead to longer maturation times'. 'We [will] try to release our whisky when it is ready, but at a higher age than a normal distillery," he said. "The Infinity Cask will most probably only mature after about 15 years. We are really aiming for the long run." Whisky lovers may be interested to hear about Ardgowan's cask policy. Mr Grain noted that, in contrast to the majority of Scotch whisky distillers, Ardgowan will exclusively mature its spirit in European oak, 90% of which will be sherry barrels. (Image: Ardgowan Distillery) Stills are put into position at the new Ardgowan Distillery He said: 'We will have a higher proportion of older whiskies than most of the other distilleries due to the Infinity Cask. It will make a difference, and we are the only whisky start-up ever who has laid down casks long before the distillery was even built to season these casks with sherry in Spain. 'We have, already, for the first three to four years of production, laid down these casks in Spain. It is all European oak, and this is also extremely unique – 90% of the casks used, or even more, in the Scotch whisky industry are ex-bourbon. We will be 100% European oak, and sherry for 90%. It is quite outstanding and a huge commitment money-wise in this project, and a huge commitment to quality.' The casks are housed in Sanlucar de Barrameda, in the heart of the sherry-making region of Spain. 'Luckily we found a warehouse which is the same distance to the sea, like the [Ardgowan] distillery is to the sea," Mr Grain said. "And we will have laid down [in] only dunnage warehouses – we have a dunnage warehouse for seasoning, and a dunnage warehouse for maturing. It is quite nice too.' As Ardgowan gears up to begin production, the company has been releasing a range of blended malts under the Clydebuilt range to generate income and to build up a distribution network for the eventual release of its own single malt. Six whiskies have so far been released under the Clydebuilt brand, which Mr Grain said are 'really good quality and represent the direction our whisky will go, so it is heavily sherried'. Given Ardgowan is still in the process of building up its distribution network, Mr Grain said there is currently no impact on business from US President Donald Trump's controversial tariff policy. But he said the 'major problem with tariffs' is their variability under Mr Trump. 'One day you read in the newspaper it is 20%, the next day it is 100%, then it's 80%, then it's nothing,' he said. 'It makes life really difficult.' He added that tariffs were 'hurting' smaller and younger distillers more than their more established and bigger counterparts. Mr Grain said 'When the distillery is new, its costs of production are higher. You need to sell more non-age statement whiskies in the early stage. All of the business plans of the newer distilleries are showing a quite high price, but they are non-age statement whiskies. This makes life currently very difficult."
