Cameronbridge

Cameronbridge is the oldest and largest grain distillery in Scotland. It was established by John Haig in 1824 in the Kingdom of Fife. Today the distillery is owned by Diageo and produces grain whisky for use in their blended Scotch whiskies. It is also the home of Haig Club whisky and produces alcohol for use in a wide variety of other products.

The whisky is light-bodied with toffee, caramel and cereal notes. Maturation in American oak casks lends the spirit a creamy vanilla character.

Cameronbridge has been Diageo’s main grain distillery since Port Dundas closed in 2011. It is a dual-purpose site, used to produce both whisky and grain neutral spirit (GNS).

Spirits produced at Cameronbridge are used to create an array of products including Archers, Pimms, Smirnoff, Tanqueray and Gordon’s Gin. The whisky contributes to Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell’s, Black & White, Vat 69 and White Horse.

Cameronbridge was one of the few grain distilleries to release an official bottling of its whisky. In 1999, a 25-year-old cask strength edition was released to mark the 175th anniversary of John Haig acquiring a distilling license. The Cameron Brig bottling has since been discontinued, however.

The distillery has three column stills that run twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. It is capable of churning out a whopping 136 million litres of alcohol each year. To put that in perspective, the largest malt distilleries can reach about 21 million.

Since 2014, grain whisky produced at Cameronbridge has been allocated to the David Beckham-fronted Haig Club brand. In recent years the range has since diversified to include flavoured whiskies and pre-mixed cans.

Cameronbridge single grain expressions are occasionally bottled by independents like Douglas Laing and Berry Bros and Rudd.

John Haig was born of two great distilling dynasties. In 1655, his great-great-grandfather was chastised by church elders for distilling on the Sabbath. It is one of the earliest records of personal distilling recorded in Scotland. His father, William, owned Seggie distillery and each of his uncles was a distiller. His mother, Margaret, was a member of the famous Stein family, who owned Kennetpans distillery.

In 1824, John leased land from the Wemyss family upon which to build his own distillery. Though originally equipped with pot stills, John installed a continuous still in 1829. The new still design was developed by his cousin Robert Stein. Two years later, Irishman Aeneas Coffey had improved upon Stein’s design. Shortly thereafter, a Coffey still was in operation at Cameronbridge. When journalist, Alfred Barnard, visited the distillery in the 1880s, he found it equipped with a Stein still, a Coffey still and a traditional pot still. All but the Coffey stills were removed in 1929.

In 1865, Haig formed an alliance with eight other grain distillers. By 1877, that alliance had become the Distillers Company Ltd (DCL). Its formation would have a massive impact on the Scotch whisky industry as DCL would evolve into Diageo, the largest drinks company in the world, with ownership of almost thirty Scottish distilleries.  

In 1989, the owners moved their GNS operation from Wandsworth in London to Cameronbridge. Around 70% of UK gin production now takes place in Scotland, with much of it produced at Cameronbridge.