Clydeside Distillery - Voyager tasting flight June 2026 - Stobcross, Napier and Fortnight
From the distillery website
Founded by father and son Tim and Andrew Morrison, the distillery is built on shared passion, tradition and a lifelong connection to Scotch whisky. Today, Andrew Morrison leads The Clydeside as Managing Director, continuing a legacy that his father helped shape from the very beginning.
While The Clydeside Distillery itself is one of Scotland’s newer distilleries, the Morrison family’s experience and heritage within the Scotch whisky industry stretches back generations — built over more than a century of whisky brokering, blending and distilling.
Housed within the historic former Pumphouse of Glasgow’s Queen’s Dock, The Clydeside Distillery represents both heritage and progress — a continuation of the city’s long connection to craftsmanship, trade and Scotch whisky.
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Stobcross - 46%
The ancient state of Stobcross was named after a historic cross which once marked the route to Dumbarton Rock. On this road, in the 1600s, the Anderson family built a fine mansion, Stobcross House, later going on to lay out the prosperous weaving village of Anderston. With time comes change, and in 1875, with the industrial rise of the River Clyde, Stobcross House was demolished to make way for the Queen’s Dock – once the beating heart of Glasgow’s global maritime trade and fame.
The Clydeside Distillery’s first release, ‘Stobcross’ – a single malt, rooted in history. Time and tide might have changed the Clyde, but the city’s spirit of innovation and creation still burns bright.
Matured in ex-Bourbon casks for 5-6 years
Appearance: New gold, forms a thin line which beads before falling as thick, oily legs
Nose: Soft and floral, honey and vanilla
Palate: Light, creamy mouthfeel, orchard fruit, honey, vanilla, hints of red berries and warming white pepper
Finish: Light orchard fruit notes remain, together with a touch of pepperiness
Summary: Although described as a marriage of Bourbon and Sherry casks on the tasting notes, I couldn’t really detect any Oloroso notes in the dram. That may be due to the lightness of the Oloroso influenced whisky itself, or the percentage used in the final mix. Either way it doesn’t really matter, for me this is very much a Bourbon-driven whisky, light and fruity with just a hint of youthfulness. It’s soft and gentle in that typical Lowland way, and very enjoyable.
Robert Napier (1791-1876) rightly regarded as the ‘Father of Clyde Shipbuilding’, had three main mantras, ‘quality, quality, quality.’ His appetite for invention and innovation in steam-engine and ship-building design saw him rub shoulders with royalty and emperors across Europe.
From the fastest and first iron-hulled ships for the Royal Navy, to the quickest Atlantic crossing, he was a man ahead of his time, one who set the template for future generations of shipbuilders.
The Clydeside Distillery, which sits just opposite Napier’s original shipyard, is proud to have applied his name, and mantra - ‘quality, quality, quality’ - to its latest release, a characterful Lowland malt, matured for over 6 years in Oloroso sherry casks.
Appearance: Deep amber, forms a thin line which beads before falling as thick, oily legs
Nose: Red berried fruit, hints of rose Turkish Delight and juicy sultanas
Palate: Soft, creamy mouthfeel, ripe strawberries, hints of dried fruit and orange marmalade, vanilla and warming ginger
Finish: Red berries linger for a while before dissipating as cinnamon, ginger and a hint of clove oil come to the fore
Summary: Very much at the softer end of the Oloroso influence spectrum and it really benefits from the lighter touch as it allows the red berried fruit from the spirit to shine. And shine they do, so much so that I ended up trying and buying a bottle of the new make spirit just to see what the levels were like before it went into the cask.
Named after the brief two-week window each year when peated spirit is distilled at The Clydeside, Fortnight joins our core range to complete the flavour journey.
Created with the same care and precision as every drop we produce, this whisky has been matured for over 6 years to reveal a distinct character. A short and deliberate moment of contrast in our calendar, bringing a new dimension to the Clydeside house style. This whisky adds more depth and peated character to our core portfolio while remaining true to our clean and fruit forward spirit.
Tasting notes
Appearance: Pale white wine in colour, forms a thin line which beads before falling as thick, oily legs
Nose: Gentle smoke, stone fruit and vanilla
Palate: Soft, sweet bbq smoke with a touch of char siu pork, lemon and honey and Szechuan pepper on the finish
Finish: Warm Szechuan pepper spice and soft peat smoke
Summary: Light and softly peated, in some ways reminiscent of the sweet smokiness of Ailsa Bay. There’s a really nice harmony between the lightness of the Clydeside spirit and the gentle peatiness.
Overall: As Clydeside is a new distillery I was expecting drams that were very much on the youthful side, so I was pleasantly surprised to find this wasn’t really the case. Instead, I found them to be extremely well balanced, light and very much in keeping with the typical Lowland character. So much so, that when I looked back at the notes I made on the day the one phrase that I’d highlighted was ‘Lowland whisky in a nutshell’.
There’s no need for water with any of these whiskies, they drink more than well without. The overall feeling I had was of three summer drams which work well neat but would also make a great base for cocktails.
My favourite of the three was the Napier, and it was noticeable that was the bottle many of the visitors were taking home with them. That said, all three are enjoyable, approachable whiskies despite being only 5-6 years old.
This was my first visit to the Clydeside Distillery, and also my first time trying any of their whiskies. I couldn’t help but be impressed by the distillery itself, the friendly and knowledgeable staff, and all of the whiskies I managed to sample. I really look forward to seeing how the range develops as the stock matures.
