There is something new at the Old Smiddy this summer, and it takes about fifteen minutes. Mini Tastings have just landed at Stirling Distillery: three short, guided walk-in tastings of our gin, whisky and rum, £15 each, with no booking required. Pull up a stool at the foot of Stirling Castle and taste what we make just a few feet from where you are standing.
We have run tours and Gin School for years, and we love them. But a full experience is not what every visitor is after. Some people are on their way up to the castle with an hour to spare. Some are curious but not ready to commit a whole afternoon. Mini Tastings are for exactly those moments: a proper taste of Stirling, poured and explained by the people who actually make it, with no diary and no big spend.
What a Mini Tasting includes
Each Mini Tasting is one spirit, poured at the counter and talked through so you leave knowing what you have just drunk and why it tastes the way it does. Choose one, or work your way through all three:
- Gin. Start with Stirling Gin, the nettle-forward Scottish gin we built the distillery on, and see how locally foraged botanicals shape the glass.
- Whisky. A dram from Scotland's smallest whisky distillery, with the story of how it was matured in the cask.
- Rum. Our Stirling Spiced Rum, steeped in local folklore and warm baking spice.
At £15 each, a Mini Tasting is an easy yes, whether you have booked a full tour or simply wandered down the hill. And if something catches you, the bottle is right there on the shelf to take home.
What you will not get is a scripted spiel read off a card. The Old Smiddy is small, and the person pouring your dram is usually the person who distilled it. Ask what a nettle actually tastes like, why a spiced rum needs patience, or how a cask changes a spirit over the years, and you will get a straight answer rather than a rehearsed one. That is the whole point of tasting somewhere this size.
Why we added walk-in Mini Tastings
Stirling gets busy, especially around the Highland Games and right through the summer. A lot of people find us almost by accident, drawn down Castlehill by the smell of botanicals rather than a plan. Until now, the honest answer to "can we just try something?" was often a full tour or nothing.
Mini Tastings fix that. They give drop-in visitors a real, guided taste without a booking, and they let us welcome more people through the door on a busy Saturday without anyone feeling rushed. It is a small change that makes a visit to the distillery a great deal easier to say yes to.
When and where to find your Mini Tasting
You will find us at the Old Smiddy, 9 Lower Castlehill, Stirling FK8 1EN, right at the foot of Stirling Castle. We are open Monday to Saturday from 11am to 5pm, and Sunday from 12pm to 5pm. Because no booking is needed, you can plan your visit around the rest of your day rather than the other way around.
A Mini Tasting also slots neatly into a bigger day out. Stirling Castle is a two minute walk uphill, the old town sits just above us, and the whole of Castlehill is made for a slow afternoon. Taste with us first, wander up to the castle, and you have built a proper little day around the foot of the rock without much planning at all.
Want the fuller story once you are hooked? Our guided distillery tour walks you through how everything is made, from the still to the label. And if a Mini Tasting sends you home with a new favourite, the full range of Stirling Gin is a good place to keep exploring.
Walk in and try a Mini Tasting. No booking, £15 a spirit, gin, whisky or rum to choose from. See the details and plan your Mini Tasting.
