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Ardgowan Distillery launches first whisky
The Ardgowan Distillery Company has launched its inaugural whisky – a limited edition 20-year-old blended Scotch made with liquid that has travelled to the South Pole.
Ardgowan Expedition is limited to 600 bottles
Limited to 600 bottles, the Ardgowan Expedition was blended by Ardgowan chairman Willie Phillips and includes single casks from Speyside and the northern Highlands.
Each bottle contains whisky that has travelled to the South Pole and back, carried by explorer Robert Swan OBE and his son Barney on a low-carbon mission.
Bottled at 46% abv, the expression is presented in a wooden case that has been signed by Phillips.
Phillips said of the whisky: “By combining the richness of Speyside and whiskies from the north coast, and marrying in sherry casks, the blend has an opening sweetness, a pleasant mouth feel (perhaps a little peppery undiluted) and a finish which reminds one of its age – altogether a unique and very enjoyable dram.”
The new whisky is the first in a series of limited edition malts – priced at around £50 – which will launch later this year.
Ardgowan Expedition is available direct from Argowan Distillery or though whisky retailer Robert Graham. It has an RRP of £500 (US$651).
Ardgowan mission controller, Jessica Skelton, said: “This special whisky commemorates our partnership with Robert and Barney, who we helped by designing and making a number of solar-powered snow melters for their clean energy quest. In return, Robert agreed to take some whisky to the pole – and Expedition is the end result.”
The expression is the first bottling to launch from the Ardgowan Distillery Company, which is planning a £12 million distillery and visitor centre in Inverkip. The company received a £1 million investment from the Scottish Government last year to begin construction.
Once up and running, the distillery will create six new full-time jobs, as well as up to 15 additional jobs in the visitor centre and retail operations. The Lowland distillery, which received planning permission in March, will be built on the Ardgowan Estate, 30 miles west of Glasgow.