A brand new, state-of-the-art whiskey distillery and tourist visitor centre is moving forward. The Glens of Antrim Distillery, owned by the McKillop family, had received planning approval at the beginning of 2025, and the project is hoping to move onto site soon.

The site on Glenariffe Road, Cushendall is highly prominent. Our client’s vision was to create something iconic that, through its strong form and composition, would invite visitors to come and find out more. The architecture would then allow the internal space to reveal and involve these visitors in the narrative of whiskey-making. Our client also strongly hopes the distillery would become a draw for visitors to the enchanting and beautiful Glens.

The design was heavily influenced by the traditional vernacular of its setting. It comprises four large, staggered, agricultural style portal frame structures with repeated narrow gables that are redolent of rural Irish buildings. The materials, which 2020 Architects have proposed, are also agricultural and are dictated in part by budget. The inspiration of the metal cladding panels, and the colours have been chosen to invoke the copper of the stills in which the whiskey is distilled. The result is arresting and contemporary.

One important aspect of the design was to elevate the whiskey, making it visible as the star of the show, and this has been achieved by housing all the whiskey casks in the first and only glass-fronted structure. Another important and key architectural feature of the design is that the internal spaces are designed in both plan and section. This allows connection between the four structures and creates interest and a natural desire to move through the distillery. In this way the building reveals to the visitor the stages and story involved in the distilling process.