Ardbeg Distillery Welcomes Its First Female Head in 200 Years

Ardbeg is currently operating without a distillery manager, given Colin Gordon's recent departure. Thankfully, this will not be for long as the new Distillery Manager has been announced: Bryony McNiven. She is a familiar face at the distillery and is now being handed the reins.

Ardbeg will soon see a new captain at the helm with the arrival of Bryony McNiven. She follows in the footsteps of Colin Gordon, who recently stepped down from the Islay distillery. McNiven has been a figure of interest to the whisky maker for a while, having previously worked at the distillery. She has contributed to several whiskies of Dr. Bill Lumsden and Gillian MacDonald.

Whisky is in her DNA. She is the daughter of a stillman and knows the Ardbeg distillery like no other. Also, McNiven graduated in Chemistry and has been part of Ardbeg’s whisky creation team for six years. These credentials will undoubtedly serve Bryony well in her new role.

McNiven is already looking forward to her new role and is stealthily planning what she can do. She has many ideas, but is keeping them under wraps for now.

McNiven is not the first woman to helm Ardbeg. In the past, several other women have held the leadership at the distillery.

In the distillery’s early years, it was two women who held the reins: Margaret and Flora Macdougall. They controlled the distillery in 1853 as sisters of the founder, John Macdougall.

However, it has been over 200 years since a woman led the Islay distillery. Ever since the Macdougalls, men have been in charge. McNiven is now set to change that.

It is yet to be seen what McNiven's first whisky will be.