I am not sure if your primary school was similar to mine. If it was, there was a constant piece of homework you would get after the summer break. The “What I did on my holiday” report. I was never a lover of homework back in school (who is after all?). So, back then, I usually dedicated as little effort to this yearly drudgery as possible.
Oh, how things have changed! Having spent the past weeks in Scotland on a partially whisky-driven island-hopping expedition, it would be criminal to do otherwise. So, over the next three weeks, I will be sharing some of my distillery and shopping experiences. I hope I can provide helpful information for those planning a whisky-themed trip to Scotland. (For your convenience, all whisky travel-related posts can be found here.) Starting today with the Lowlands region and Glasgow’s Clydeside Distillery tour. Besides describing the tour, I am including some geeky whisky rumours and short notes on what I sampled.
Bringing whisky-making back to Glasgow
If you are unfamiliar with the story of Clydeside Distillery let me give a brief introduction. If you know all about them, feel free to skip directly to the tour description below.
Glasgow used to be a hub for distillation in the XIX century. By the 1970’s even the last local distillery, specialising in grain whisky for blends, had shut down. Auchentoshan remained the only active distillery in the wider Glasgow urban area, though not in the city itself.
Clydeside is part of the new wave of distilleries which emerged in Scotland since 2010, a list that is continuing to grow. The Lowland whisky region in particular, of which Glasgow is part, has had a significant explosion of new distilleries. This is bringing focus back on a regionwhich was an afterthought for many whisky drinkers just a couple of decades ago.
The plans for the distillery started in 2011. Due to planning and construction complications, the distillery opened only in November 2017. Originally the name of the distillery was supposed to be Glasgow, but due to the delays, what is now Glasgow Distillery pipped them to the post. This forced the change of the name to Clydeside, reflecting the location on the banks of the river Clyde.
The distillery itself has been built on the site of the old Pump House. This was designed by a relative of the current owners, the Morrison family, to raise and lower the bridge servicing the now-unused commercial dock via hydraulic power. The site has a post-industrial charm and it is relatively easy to get to. While it is not directly connected to Glasgow’s public transport, it is easily reachable. It is just 15-minute walk away from several nearby bus and rail stops.
The Clydeside Distillery tour
(The description below is based on my tour of the distillery, which took place during the summer of 2024)
Clydeside offers two experiences, a basic tour and a chocolate and whisky pairing experience, aimed more at the whisky-curious public. It also offers an exclusive, and frankly overpriced at 175£, Distillery Manager tour. The basic tour is often a good way to have a first impression of a distillery and precisely what I was looking for.
The distillery part of the tour shows the standard process from mashing to fermentation and distillation. As with many distilleries, the malting and warehousing are not on site. The malt is sourced (from Simpsons Malt) and the cask warehouse is off-site. Since the tour is pitched at a basic level, none of the information shared by the guides will be news if you are a whisky aficionado. Having said that, they are knowledgeable and did answer my more geeky questions. Nonetheless, it is interesting to see the facilities, especially the beautiful glass house hosting the still room overlooking the Clyde. What is different from other distillery tours are the two small exhibits at the start of the tour. One is dedicated to the history of whisky making in Glasgow and the other to the history of the building and the Morrison family. Both are informative and well-presented.
As with every good tour, after learning the history and methods used at the distillery you crown things off with some whisky.
The insider info: peated Clydeside
One of the plusses of distillery tours is that sometimes you can get insider info on what’s coming. Not necessarily secrets, but lesser-known details.
During my Clydeside visit I learned that while most of the production takes place using unpeated barley, the distillery does distil a small part of peated barley. This is about 1% of total production. The spirit obtained will be on the market as a special edition in the future. Possibly even as an aged stated one.
Clydeside Distillery tour – Stobcross tasting
Considering the short time the distillery has been operational, the tasting focused on its main product, the Stobcross. Yet, Instead of just offering attendees a quick sip of the whisky, this was done smartly and insightfully. We all got a chance to try the new make first, then the individual components that go in the Stobcross separately. Only then we sampled the final Stobcross single malt, Clydesdale’s flagship product. While none of these had an age statement our guide mentioned they were over 4 years old.
I didn’t take any particular notes on the newmake besides noting a general pleasant orchard fruit character and a slight astringency.
My short notes
The Bourbon-aged spirit component of the Stobcross was not particularly memorable. It was quite intensely flavoured but definitely on the simpler and on the young side. The main aromas were of unripe orchard fruit, banana, some spice and loads of vanilla.
In contrast, I liked the Sherry-cask component a lot more. Here, the cask imprint tamed the youthfulness of the spirit better. This had darker toffee, and baking spice notes, with a nice orange citrus note and a slight nuttiness.
How do the two cask-aged spirits work together in the Stobcross? The final vatting uses a majority of bourbon casks. This is understandable from a cost perspective (due to the cost of Sherry casks). Unfortunately, that means the youthfulness is quite evident, with a sharp almost acetone note, unripe apples and pear, lots of vanilla and some sherry spice.
As much as I wanted to like the Stobcross, it is still a young whisky with some way to go. I get the commercial pressure to recoup the start-up expenses by releasing a product ASAP. Yet, in a competitive environment full of new distilleries, the risk of coming out too early with a product that doesn’t fully represent your potential and alienates potential fans is very real. I do like how the distillery is not going for bland or diluted, but sticking for 46%, non chill filtered and natural-colour presented whisky. I hope that future releases with additional ageing will show us the full potential of what Clydeside has to offer.
The inevitable conclusion
Like every good exhibition/museum/gallery closing the tour by walking through the shop is a must. I don’t know about you, but I am a sucker for distillery shops and always feel I am missing out if I do not buy at least some small knick-knack. Considering the Clydeside Distillery tour ticket comes with a discount on the purchase of a whisky (£5 if I remember correctly), you will have a chance to get a decent deal on the available whiskies. Even for a young distillery the Clydeside shop offered a few options.
There is a self-pour cask on offer, which judging from the info logged on Whiskybase changes a few times a year. When I was there, that was a red wine cask finish cask strength. There were also still a few bottles of the 2023 Special Edition, and the new Napier release, a six-year-old single malt aged fully in Oloroso Sherry casks. Considering the good impression I got from the Sherry component of the Stobcross and the two added years of age, I decided to grab this as it seemed the safest bet to get a Clydeside Distillery dram that showcased the distillery at its best… to be reviewed not too far in the future.
Is it worth it?
Overall, I enjoyed the Clydeside Distillery tour experience. While it is more firmly aimed at the whisky-curious than the geek, the staff is knowledgeable and will provide insightful information. The small exhibit on whisky in Glasgow and the Morrison family was informative, avoiding the self-hyperbole risk these installations sometimes fall into. The tour is not a bad way to spend 90 minutes of your day, for anyone visiting Glasgow with even a passing interest in whisky.
Time to move to the next leg of the journey, with a new unique Lowland distillery on the horizon. Stay tuned!
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