INVERCLYDE-based Ardgowan Distillery has appointed a new Sales and Marketing Director as it begins construction on its ambitious £20 million state of the art ‘cathedral of whisky’.
With more than 25 years’ experience building premium spirits brands, including Bruichladdich, The GlenDronach and also as a Founding Director of The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, David Keir brings deep understanding and knowledge of the Scotch whisky industry to the net-zero designed distillery, set to become operational in 2024.
Speaking on his appointment, David commented:
“With construction now underway, it is great to be joining the company at such an integral stage of the project.
“As we wait for Ardgowan Single Malt to come of age I look forward to working with the team and developing our existing multi-award winning brands; Clydebuilt & Inverdarach. Growing Ardgowan Distillery’s existing network of distributors across select global markets will be a priority, with positive discussions already underway with potential partners in the USA, Asia and Europe.
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“Our UK home market is also very important. Specialist retailers have had a challenging time of late and the recent duty increase has added to this. However they perform a crucial role for emerging brands like Ardgowan Distillery and for discerning consumers who like to seek out something a little different. I’ll be focused on building a strong route to market with these retailers, supporting them wherever we can.”
David joins a team of industry stalwarts currently backing the distillery, including ex-Macallan master of wood, Stuart Macpherson and master whisky maker, Max McFarlane, previous lead whisky maker at Edrington with over 40 years industry experience.
His appointment comes in tandem with further growth for Ardgowan Distillery’s sales team, with the appointment of Customer Service and Production Manager, Claire Stewart, previously of Chivas Brothers.
Ardgowan Distillery Chief Executive, Martin McAdam, added:
“David comes to us with a fantastic background, bolstering everything we do. Having a portfolio of experience as extensive and successful as David’s, we look forward to utilising his skills to help position Ardgowan at the forefront of the Scotch whisky industry.”
Ardgowan Distillery will implement cutting-edge technologies and partnerships with new technology developers to deliver a carbon-neutral spirit.
The distillery has partnered with Heriot Watt University and engineers Briggs of Burton to develop technology to capture all of the CO2 in its fermentation process and transform it into green biomethane – a technique which has never been used at a Scottish whisky distillery before.
Ardgowan expects to create almost 50 jobs for the local area and, upon completion, will have the capacity to produce one million litres of premium whisky per year.
