For the Love of Whisky

Now our distillery has made the move into whisky production, I thought it would be a good opportunity to talk about our whisky journey. My background in whisky is vast, with a long-standing passion for whisky. In 2008 myself and June opened a whisky shop on the banks of Loch Lomond to nurture that passion, and both Stirling Gin and the distillery stemmed from that. We loved creating our own, locally-sourced gin range that has won a host of awards - people have responded brilliantly to our spicy, nettle-infused gin made from our hand-picked nettles.

After renovating and opening the distillery in 2019, we’ve now been able to move into whisky production, distilling our first new-make spirit in October of this year. We are excited about the local twist we can give to this lowland single malt. The spirit will be light, fresh and gentle, made with water drawn initially from the North Third reservoir. The term Lowland malt simply means whisky created south of the Highland boundary fault line. Our casks will be stored in a traditional dunnage in the shadow of Stirling Castle, ensuring we respect and maintain whisky tradition. Whilst there is modern equipment to help with the distilling process, we’re keen to adhere to as many traditional processes as possible.

We are using a small still producing just 10,000 litres a year – making us the smallest whisky distillery in Scotland as far as we know! The low production numbers will ensure our whisky will be limited in numbers and a real collectors item.  We hope to expand the distillery in the coming years to increase the amount of whisky we produce but for now we are proud of our unique position as the smallest distillery in Scotland (we think!).

Whisky hasn’t been distilled in the city since 1852 when the original Stirling Distillery closed its doors. As the first legal distillery on the castle rock, we have always wondered how many illegal ones there have been in the city.  

The first brewing mash took place on Tuesday 3rd October 2023 with the first gravity reading taken that evening. The delicate distilling process will see craft small batch runs over the next few months as the distilling team develop the whisky’s unique flavour.

I'm never happier than when I'm talking about whisky - from production, cask trading to the whisky world in general. If you happen to bump into me at the distillery when you're on a tour I'm always delighted to share whisky stories or anecdotes. Just don't get caught putting ice into your malt!!

My extensive list of contacts are spread around the world, from New Zealand, Singapore, USA to South Africa. This can lead to either early morning or late evening calls. I’m always at the end of the phone if you wanted to discuss anything whisky-related or find out more about not only what we’re doing with regards whisky, but also what is happening in the whisky market.