The Glasgow Distillery Co. — Local services in Great Britain

The Glasgow Distillery Experience

I managed to get a place on yesterday's tour of the distillery. I’m already a fan of their wide range of whisky expressions, so I was eager to see how they produce their wonderful spirits.

I arrived a bit early for the 2 o’clock start but found that 6 other attendees were even keener than me and were already in the tasting room. Once the 8th person arrived, we were off.

Our main guide was Seb, who walked us through the three initial drams and the stories behind them before taking us out to the main work floor (via a very intriguing wee lab where they do all the mad science stuff!)

All the stills that Glasgow Distillery use are by the German company, Carl. The two original stills are called “Mhairi” and “Tara” after the founders’ daughters. A nice personal touch. Later they added another two stills, identical to these and I believe they are named “Margaret” and “Frances”. The mash tuns and washbacks are also by Carl. Although the stills are quite small in comparison to some of the larger distilleries I’ve been to, the whole setup just looks right, where they’ve maximised the space perfectly.

Once Seb had finished explaining this side of production, it was over to the distillery’s Master Cooper, Shug. This is where it got hands on for us visitors. A volunteer from our group was tasked with transferring the new make spirit into a cask whilst carefully monitoring the weight of the cask as it filled. What struck me for a new(ish) distillery is how little technology is used in the production process – everything is documented on paper and all controls are manual. We each got a wee taste of the new make, which was lovely.

The next stop was the warehouse next door. Shug gave a demonstration of assembling and fixing casks using an amazing array of hand tools. From a bundle of staves, he quickly positioned them in a circle round the inside of the first hoop. I volunteered to help hold the staves in position as Shug drove the hoops on to finish the assembly. All the time he was giving us tips of his trade. It’s definitely not as simple as he made it look!

It was now on to the maturation process within the warehouse, which is predominantly palletised storage at Glasgow Distillery. This is always one of my favourite parts of a tour as I find the smells are very distinctive for each distillery. We had another tasting here with drams hand pulled from a cask by another volunteer.

It was then back to the tasting room for, you guessed it, more whisky. There was a distillery exclusive and the new Ruby Port Cask Finish. I had already ordered a bottle online the day before, but it was nice to have a wee dram of it before cracking open my new bottle at home later! I kind of lost count, but I think we all had 7 drams in the 2 hours we were there. Very generous!

For me, the tour was perfect. A lot of distilleries rush you through as quick as they can to get you to the shop to make a purchase. This was a lot more laid back and Seb and Shug are incredibly knowledgeable in their fields. Will I go back again? Indeed, I will. I’m already booked in for...

Booked onto this tour as soon as it was advertised. Went with members of our whisky club (BAWS) and we were blown away by how good it was. We've been on 65+ distillery tours and this was outstanding! Honestly one of the very best. Unscripted, honest, hilarious, in depth, hands on and loads of lovely lovely drams! Shug is a brilliant all rounder and a complete craftsman, Graham knows every single aspect of the distillery and shared everything. Just brilliant. Keeping the tour to just 8 people makes this feel like you're part of the Glasgow Distillery family and adds to the feeling that you're getting something special. The drams are amazing and plentiful. We love the 1770 drams anyway and it's a real treat to pull from the cask yourself and try something special. We came away with a few bottles (including the superbly priced Distillery Exclusive!) and really enjoyed the day out. Can't recommend this...

What a lovely company . They literally go out of their way to help out. Alison was exceptional, such a lovely lady. My uncle was celebrating his 70th birthday & in theses times when you are alone it’s really so difficult. His pressie hadn’t arrived on time ,so Alison arranged a quick delivery and even gave him an extra gift of a Gin Glass, he was over the moon . He can’t wait to have a G& T with his partner and tour the Distillery himself. Thank...