History Of Spirit In Stirling
History Of Spirit In Stirling
History Of Whisky In Stirling
Discover what formed Stirling Distillery
1816
Stirling’s first distillery
Whisky first flowed legally in Stirling in 1816, when the town’s original distillery was licensed. For a few brief decades, whisky from the castle rock helped put Stirling on Scotland’s spirits map — until the stills fell silent in 1852.
1852
The silence begins
When the original distillery closed in 1852, whisky disappeared from Stirling. For more than 160 years the city’s whisky story was frozen in time, remembered only in records and local tales.
1888
The Old Smiddy is built
The building that would become Stirling Distillery, The Old Smiddy, was constructed in 1888 in the shadow of Stirling Castle. It served many roles over the years, but one thing never changed: its position on the castle rock, looking out over the same streets where whisky had once been made.
2015
One anniversary, one bottle, a new beginning
On their 26th wedding anniversary, June and Cameron McCann decided not to buy a gift — they decided to create one. On 28 October 2015, they distilled the first bottle of Stirling Gin in a 2.4 litre copper still called Jinty. That single, experimental batch lit the fuse on Stirling’s modern spirits story.
2015–2018
From kitchen still to recognised gin
Word spread quickly. Demand outgrew Jinty, leading to Flora a larger still named after June’s mother, capable of producing 170 bottles per run. What started as a personal project became a small but serious distillery, and Stirling Gin grew into a nationally recognised spirit with a loyal following.
2019
Stirling’s first legal distillery opens
In 2019, June and Cameron opened Stirling’s first legal distillery on the castle rock, bringing The Old Smiddy back to life. The Victorian frontage was restored, the interior rebuilt around gleaming copper stills, and the doors opened to visitors who wanted to taste, tour and experience Stirling spirits in the place they are made.
2021
Sons of Scotland brings whisky back into view
With the launch of the Sons of Scotland independent bottling range in 2021, Stirling Distillery turned its attention back to whisky. Carefully chosen casks celebrated the region’s past and gave a first glimpse of the character Stirling whisky could one day offer — a bridge between history and what was to come.
3 October 2023
Whisky runs again in Stirling
On 3 October 2023, mash was brewed for Stirling Distillery’s own whisky for the very first time. For the first time since 1852, whisky production had truly returned to Stirling. The stills on the castle rock were no longer just an idea; they were working, filling the air with the smell of a new make spirit that belonged to the city again.
27 November 2023
The first cask is filled
On 27 November 2023, the distillery filled its first whisky cask. A single barrel, rolled into place in the cool, traditional dunnage warehouse, marked the moment Stirling once again had its own whisky quietly maturing in wood.
Today
Scotland’s smallest whisky distillery
Today, Stirling Distillery produces fewer than 20,000 litres of spirit a year, making it Scotland’s smallest whisky distillery. Every drop is made, bottled and labelled by hand at The Old Smiddy, with visitors able to step inside, see the stills, and taste the spirits that have reignited Stirling’s whisky story.
2027
The first Stirling whisky
From 2027, the first Stirling Distillery whisky will be released. For those who have followed the journey from that first anniversary gin through Sons of Scotland and the inaugural cask, it will be more than a new bottle on the shelf it will be the moment a city’s 19th‑century whisky story finally finds its modern chapter.
A New Home
When it was time to give Stirling Gin a permanent home, June and Cameron chose The Old Smiddy on the castle rock – a building whose history matched their story. They kept its 1888 stone frontage intact and rebuilt the interior as a working distillery, with state‑of‑the‑art stills, bespoke windows and doors, and warm wood panelling.
Today, The Old Smiddy is both a modern distillery and a continuation of Stirling’s past, with every drop made, bottled and labelled by hand on the same rock where the city’s spirits story began.
Stirling Distillery Today
Today, Stirling Distillery is a small, hands‑on team making gin and whisky by hand in The Old Smiddy beneath Stirling Castle. Every bottle is filled, labelled and packed on site, so what leaves the distillery has genuinely been made on the rock it calls home.
Visitors can step inside the working distillery for tours, tastings, cocktail experiences and our gin school, with the stills on one side and the castle on the other. As Scotland’s smallest whisky distillery, producing a limited amount of spirit each year, Stirling Distillery offers something few places can: a modern spirits house where the city’s long‑paused story of whisky and gin is being written in real time.
Visit Stirling Distillery
Step inside The Old Smiddy beneath Stirling Castle and see where our gin and whisky are made by hand. Join us for a tour, tasting or gin school experience and be part of Stirling’s spirits story.
