Inverclyde's £20 million 'cathedral of whisky' appoints heavy-hitting chairman

Paul Currie joins a team of notable industry names at the start-up distillery venture.

Experienced industry figure Paul Currie has been appointed chairman of Inverclyde-based Ardgowan Distillery.

Inverclyde-based start-up Ardgowan Distillery has named an industry heavy-hitter as its chairman ahead of its £20 million “cathedral of whisky” becoming operational by the end of 2024.

With 30 years’ experience having founded the likes of Isle of Arran Distillers and The Lakes Distillery, Paul Currie is said to bring an extensive understanding of the whisky industry to Ardgowan. He joins a team of notable industry names 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 more than 40 years’ industry experience.

Currie’s appointment also follows the recent appointment of sales and marketing director David Keir, a founding director of The GlenAllachie Distillers Company, with some 25 years of industry experience.

Ardgowan Distillery is implementing extensive heat recovery and heat storage as part of the whisky-making process. The distillery has already partnered with Heriot-Watt University and engineering specialist Briggs of Burton to develop technology to capture and repurpose the CO2 in its fermentation process. The venture expects to create almost 50 jobs for the local area and, upon completion, will have the capacity to produce up to one million litres of whisky per year.

Martin McAdam, chief executive of Ardgowan Distillery, said: “As a start-up distillery it is so important for us to be able to attract great people. With Paul’s experiences from both Isle of Arran and The Lakes Distillery, he is someone who has built distillery businesses from the ground-up it is a real pleasure to bring him on board as our chairman. We share a lot in common with Lakes Distillery and what Paul and his team have done at Lakes is similar to the visitor experience that we wish to bring to Ardgowan Distillery.”

Currie added: “A new wave of distilleries are now opening both in Scotland and in the rest of the world and Ardgowan Distillery is set to be at the forefront of these, with a terrific location, innovative ideas and an outstanding team. With construction now underway on site, it is a pivotal time to be joining the team.”