Distil Plc announced the successful first distillation of Blackwood at Ardgowan Distillery. Following completion of necessary commissioning and testing, the gin still at Blackwoods' new brand home on the site of the Ardgowan Distillery is now fully operational, and the first distillation of Blackwoods has been completed. The team has reserved this first liquid for release as a limited-edition available exclusively to shareholders in the summer, with more details to follow soon.

Distillation took place on the 1,000L, Scottish-crafted copper still to Blackwoods gin recipe, using local Scottish botanicals - kelp, sea buckthorn and water mint. Ardgowan's distiller, Ross Bradley, led the distillation with support from Distil's Master Distiller, Sion Edwards. This milestone is marked by the announcement of the naming of the gin still - "Marie".

The name was chosen by visitors to the first annual Ardgowan Open Day in July 2023, who voted from a shortlist of names evoking local history. Marie was the outright winner on the day, chosen to honour the memory of Marie Lamont, one of the youngest women to have been subject to the 17th century Inverkip witch trials. The first distillation cements Blackwoods' move to its new home at Ardgowan, and kicks-off a programme of new product development for the brand, which will be showcased at the distillery's visitor experience.