RCS - Distil PLC - Ardgowan Distillery - delivery of whisky stills

DistilAnnouncement

06/11/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 0699L  Distil PLC  06 November 2024

Distil PLC

 

Ardgowan Distillery celebrates delivery of whisky stills

 

 

Distil plc (AIM:DIS), owner of premium drinks brands Blackwoods Gin and Vodka,
RedLeg Spiced Rum, TRØVE Botanical Vodka and Blavod Black Vodka, is pleased
to note that Ardgowan Distillery Company Limited ("Ardgowan") took delivery of
its whisky stills on Monday 4 November 2024.

 

The team invited guests from the local area and supporters of the project to
site to celebrate the significant milestone in the Ardgowan journey. Those in
attendance, including Distil investor and Non-Executive Director, Roland
Grain, and Blackwoods' brand manager, James Evans, were lucky enough to
witness the gargantuan 6.4m, 12,500-litre wash still, and 5.4m, 9,000-litre
spirit still settle into their new homes.

 

Each of the copper stills, featuring a distinct design exclusive to Ardgowan
Distillery, has been hand-crafted by McMillan Coppersmiths with over two
million hammer blows used to smooth and shape the copper. The final touches to
the spirit still alone took over 140 hours, or 18 days, of dedicated
craftsmanship.

 

The stills will allow Ardgowan to produce over 1 million litres of new make
spirit every year. The stills, now in place, will undergo a period of
commissioning, with the first distillation expected in the spring.

 

Images of the stills can be found at www.distil.uk.com/news
(http://www.distil.uk.com/news) .

 

Sustainability has been at the forefront of the project, and the wash still is
equipped with a cutting-edge thermal vapour recompression head recovery
system, in which 315 precision-engineered tubes capture and recycle energy,
maximising every drop and taking a big step towards the distillery's net-zero
emissions goal. This technology, alongside CO2 capture from fermentation,
means the distillery will eventually become carbon negative, and the
distillery building itself showcases this commitment:

 

-   The roof is constructed from 97% recycled aluminium

-   Steel trusses contain 64% recycled steel

-   Insulation is made entirely from post-consumer recycled plastics

 

Martin McAdam, CEO of Ardgowan Distillery, emphasised the significance of this
development: "This occasion is critically important to our company, it is a
measure of how far we have progressed. The stills will be installed in the
coming days, and the process of bringing Ardgowan Distillery to life now
begins. I would like to thank the team at McMillan Coppersmiths. Creating our
beautiful stills requires amazing skills, and they are truly works of art. The
coppersmiths have not just shaped metal but are weaving centuries of Scottish
whisky-making tradition into every curve and contour of these beautiful
vessels."

 

Distil invested £3m into the Ardgowan Distillery project in 2021 in the form
of a convertible loan to support the development of the new Malt Whisky
distillery. The strategic investment provides the Company with a long-term
interest in a growing premium category, ability to develop our own Malt
Scotch, as well as providing a home for Blackwoods Gin with its own
distillery, Gin school and visitors' centre.

 

Blackwoods production has already commenced on site, and fit-out of the brand
home experience is underway. Visitors were given a preview of the brand home
at the Ardgowan Open Day in September, as well as taste and purchase the
range, including the exclusive release of the limited-edition Blackwoods First
Drop - the first gin to have been distilled at Ardgowan.

 

For further information:

 

 Distil PLC
 Don Goulding, Executive Chairman  Tel: +44 203 283 4006

 SPARK Advisory Partners Limited

 (NOMAD)
 Neil Baldwin                      Tel: +44 203 368 3550

 Mark Brady
 Allenby Capital Ltd

 (Broker)
 James Reeve/Piers Shimwell        Tel: +44 (0)20 3328 5656

 Jos Pinnington/Guy McDougall

 

 

 

About Distil

Distil Plc is quoted on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. It owns
drinks brands in a number of sectors of the alcoholic drinks market. These
include premium spiced rum, vodka, gin, vodka vanilla cream liqueur and are
called RedLeg Spiced Rum. Blackwoods Vintage Gin, Blackwoods Vodka, TRØVE
Botanical Vodkas, Blavod Original Black Vodka and Diva Vodka.

 

 

 

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