Glasgow distillery launches its first single malt Scotch whisky

The Glasgow Distillery Company, the first independent single malt distillery to open in the city since 1902, and makers of the international award-winning Makar Gin, has announced the launch of 1770 Glasgow Single Malt Scotch Whisky.

With only 5,000 bottles existing globally, bottles will be allocated via a ballot with online registration opening today, Friday 9th March, and a select few Glaswegians will be among the first to try it.

Named 1770 in a nod to the city’s forgotten past (the original Glasgow Distillery, now long-gone, was founded that year), the single malt is said to represent the beginnings of a renaissance for single malt whisky in the area. Created and crafted by the forward-thinking team at the distillery, with young and talented distillers at the core, state of the art equipment and traditional methods have been brought together to produce an exquisite product that is said to reflect the “new spirit of Glasgow”.

“Glasgow constantly influences us,” said Liam Hughes, CEO and co-founder of The Glasgow Distillery Company. “When we talk about the city to those who don’t know it, we say it’s more industrious than industrial - it’s somewhere that doesn’t stand still and always strives to go one better. And that was our inspiration for 1770; we wanted a product that’s distinctive, enterprising and of the very best quality.

At Glasgow Distillery we like to take the unconventional route – as such, we want local people to help us describe ourselves. We’ll give an exclusive taste of our single malt whisky to a lucky few Glaswegians before anyone else gets their hands on it. It won’t even be bottled – this is a proper sneak peek. The comments we capture will then help form the tasting notes for the first 1770 release. It’s a big part of how we’ll introduce the single malt to the rest of the world.

“We can’t wait to share 1770 with the city – we are all very proud of this single malt whisky.”

Laid down in first fill ex-bourbon casks, and finished for a short period in virgin oak, 1770 delivers a clean, full flavour from the very start. Non-chill filtered, it is bottled at a high strength ABV of 46%.

The first few 1770 casks began to come of age this week, ahead of its official on-sale date of 3rd June. Those who register interest on glasgowdistillery.com between now and then will be entered into a ballot to be given the chance to purchase the limited new release, which will be delivered later in the year.

The exclusive 1770 tasting will take place at The Glasgow Distillery on Wednesday 21st March from 5pm. To be in with a chance of helping to shape how 1770 is described, visit the 1770 Whisky Facebook page, and comment on the dedicated Glasgow Tasting post by Friday 16th March. Winners will be contacted directly.

1770 is the first wave of single malt whisky to be released by The Glasgow Distillery Company – but not the last. In 2019 and 2020, peated and triple-distilled single malts will be released as part of continued annual limited-edition releases.