The original Glasgow Distillery Company was one of Scotland’s first distilleries. Founded in 1770, it produced a variety of single malt whiskies until it eventually closed down forever in 1902. Over 100 years later, Liam Hughes and Mike Hayward joined forces to honour this lost distillery and bring whisky distillation back to Glasgow. Thus, The Glasgow Distillery Company Ltd was (re)born.
In 2013, the distillery found its home in Hillington, and construction began. In 2014, its first product, Makar Gin, was introduced to the world. Four years later, Glasgow 1770 Single Malt Scotch Whisky was launched to immediate sell-out success.
The distillery started with a single wash still and spirit still, named Tara and Mhairi respectively after family members of Hughes and Hayward. In 2019, the distillery added two perfect replicas of these stills, named after the famous artists and sisters, Margaret and Frances MacDonald. The wash stills have a capacity of 2,500 litres and the spirit stills have a capacity of 1,500 litres, with the distillery’s yearly production capacity at around 440,000 litres.
Glasgow produces both peated and unpeated single malts and they split their working year into three distinct periods to allow the distillery team to focus closely on the production required for each spirit. The different spirit styles produced in each period are double distilled spirit using unpeated malted barley, double distilled spirit using peated malted barley, and triple distilled spirit using unpeated malted barley. The spirit that runs from the distillery’s stills has a deliciously bright and fruity taste, with the peated spirit showcasing these flavours alongside a more waxy and robust note.
Their unpeated spirit is generally filled into ex-bourbon casks from different US producers, whilst the peated spirit is usually filled into virgin American white oak barrels which come to the distillery from Kelvin Cooperage – a company that was set up on the banks of Glasgow’s River Kelvin in the 1960s, before moving to Kentucky in the 1990s. The distillery also works with several speciality casks each year, including (but not limited to) port, Tokaji, and beer. Their single malt whisky can be found in over 25 countries across the world.
In the eleven years that Glasgow Distillery has been operational, it has also been producing vodka (G52), rum (Banditti Club), and blended malt (Malt Riot) on top of its hugely successful whisky and gin. It’s no surprise that the distillery had to expand its warehousing last year to accommodate the huge demand for its exceptional produce.
This month, we’re sampling the distillery’s inaugural whisky, Glasgow 1770 The Original. Made using concerto malted barley and water from Loch Katrine, this expression was laid to rest in first fill ex-bourbon casks before enjoying a finish in virgin American oak barrels. The result is a perfectly balanced whisky full of notes of candied orange peel, pear drops, marzipan, and oak.
