Clydeside Distillery opens whisky bar
Glasgow distillery Clydeside has transformed its cafe into a bar and released a limited edition whisky in collaboration with events venue SWG3.
The bar will offer an extensive selection of drams, including the distillery’s signatures, Stobcross and Napier, and its exclusive Voyager Club bottling.
Guests will be able to enjoy neat serves, curated whisky flights, and cocktails. Beer, wine, other spirits, hot beverages and light bites will also be available.
The venue is open to both whisky tour guests and the general public seven days a week, from 11am to 5.30pm.
“Our new whisky bar is a warm, inviting space where visitors can explore our classic Lowland-style whiskies and exclusive releases, as well as drams from other regions of Scotland,” said visitor centre manager Bridgeen Mullen. “We’re delighted to share this news with Glasgow and beyond.”
Last year, the distillery added a hands-on whisky creator tour to its visitor offering.
As well as the bar and visitor experience, Clydeside offers a membership programme called the Voyager Club, which offers perks such as exclusive releases and events.
SWG3 collaboration
Alongside the bar launch, the Clydeside Distillery has also created a new whisky as part of a collaboration with Glasgow events venue SWG3. The expression, a single malt called Velvet Odyssey, is intended to mark SWG3’s 20th anniversary.
SWG3’s managing director Andrew Fleming-Brown and Clydeside founder Andrew S Morrison were childhood friends and now have neighbouring businesses on the banks of the River Clyde.
Made using water from Loch Katrine and 100% Scottish barley, Velvet Odyssey is matured in first-fill Bourbon barrels. The expression is finished in a Pedro Ximénez Sherry butt for five months.
Bottled at 48.5% ABV, the whisky offers notes of ‘tropical fruit, toffee, oak spice and dark chocolate’.
Morrison said: “To see where SWG3 is after 20 years is pretty incredible. Andrew and I have known each other since we were kids, and while my career took me away for a long time, I’d return every few years and watch SWG3 evolve one room at a time. Now, with our businesses based just across the road, it feels like a special moment to collaborate on something meaningful.”
“We had a fantastic Pedro Ximénez Sherry butt and decided to re-rack spirit that had been maturing in first-fill Bourbon barrels for some time into the Sherry butt for a further maturation. The result is a unique expression with real intensity, depth of colour and natural sweetness. It’s quite unlike anything else we’ve produced and felt like the right match for this project.
“Combined with Jim Lambie’s striking design, it captures the creative spirit and energy of this corner of Glasgow.”
The bottle and packaging features artwork by Jim Lambie. The piece features a customised white Daimler limousine wrapped in Lambie’s signature psychedelic vinyl tape. The car was originally created in 2006 for a pop-up store by Comme des Garçons, which was housed in SWG3.
A small piece of the car is now on display at the Clydeside Distillery for the whisky launch.
Lambie said: “It was exciting to revisit the original design and think about how it could live again on the label and packaging. The memories came flooding back – the pop-up store, the line of Daimlers, and the idea to create something inspired by John Lennon’s Rolls-Royce.
“I designed my own version of a Paisley pattern, something local and iconic, and it became the visual anchor for the space. To see it come back to life nearly 20 years later, on a bottle made just across the road is pretty special.”
He also explains the thinking behind the name: “Velvet Odyssey suggests something smooth and elegant, but also a sense of movement – that each sip could take you somewhere. It’s about reimagining whisky as an experience, not just a drink.”
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