The Glasgow

Hillington, Glasgow — founded 2012, first casks 2015, single malt back in the city after a century

Region

Lowlands

Founded

2012

Owner

The Glasgow Distillery Company

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The story

Single malt returns to Glasgow for the first time since 1902

Founded in 2012 by Liam Hughes, Mike Hayward, and Ian MacDougall, The Glasgow Distillery Company takes its name from the original Glasgow Distillery founded in 1770 and closed in 1902. Operating out of a repurposed industrial site in Hillington and laying down their first casks in 2015, the team set out to prove that Glasgow one of the world’s great whisky cities could produce world-class single malt. Their flagship Glasgow 1770 brand has since swept international awards and completely disrupted the craft whisky market, making them the vanguard of the modern Lowland urban revival.

Character and Production

Three distinct styles, four named stills, and intensely experimental wood

The Glasgow Distillery is incredibly ambitious, producing three entirely distinct styles of Lowland single malt under the same roof. Four compact copper pot stills affectionately named Tara, Mhairi, Frances, and Margaret maximise copper contact with the spirit, resulting in a bright, fruity, and wonderfully pure new-make. Because the stills are relatively small, the spirit has exceptionally high copper interaction, contributing to the distillery’s signature clean and expressive character.

Small Batch exotic wood programme — Glasgow Distillery is intensely experimental with its maturation policy, regularly finishing the versatile new-make in a wide range of exotic wood types for its highly acclaimed Small Batch series. This experimental approach creates a constantly evolving portfolio of highly individual and collectible expressions.

Unpeated

Classic double distilled Lowland style bright, fruity, and pure

Peated

Rich and heavily peated an unusual and highly prized Lowland smoky expression

Triple distilled

Exceptionally smooth mirrors the Lowland tradition of triple distillation for delicacy

Flavour profile

Small Batch exotic wood programme

Virgin oak
Pedro Ximénez sherry
Madeira
Ruby Port
Tequila

Distillery Facts

Annual capacity

360,000 litres (one of the smallest in Scotland)

Malt specification

Unpeated and peated

Mash tun

Stainless steel, 1-tonne

Stills

4 compact copper pot stills (2 wash, 2 spirit) — Tara, Mhairi, Frances and Margaret

Condenser

Shell and tube

Heat source

Steam, dual fuel boiler

Washbacks

Up to 72 hours

Fermentation

2015

Water source

Loch Katrine

Investment Outlook

Performance and returns

The investment thesis for Glasgow Distillery is built on a perfect storm of fiercely restricted supply and rapidly accelerating demand. The permanent closure of the Cask Club in late 2020 created an artificial supply cap that can never be reversed a scarcity dynamic that only compounds with time. The brand’s prestige is currently skyrocketing the first ever 10 Year Old single malt sold out in under 20 minutes, demonstrating the depth of global collector demand for aged Glasgow 1770 expressions. With only 360,000 litres produced annually across three distinct production styles, every independently held cask is genuinely rare and becomes progressively more so as the brand continues to grow. Securing an independently held cask of Glasgow 1770 today allows investors to tap into a rapidly premiumising, cult-favourite urban brand where demand is massively outstripping the available private supply.

Any Bottle retail figures mentioned on this page refer to independent bottlings, not cask valuations.

"The vanguard of the urban Lowland revival. By mastering three distinct whisky styles and permanently closing their private cask programme, Glasgow Distillery has created a perfect storm of soaring global demand and fiercely restricted supply. An incredibly exciting, modern craft investment with brilliant capital appreciation potential."