Cambus Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Cambus Distillery is a Scotch grain whisky distillery located in the village of Cambus, near Alloa, in the Lowland region of Scotland. It was founded in 1806 and was permanently closed in 1993, though the site remains in industrial use by its owner, Diageo. Cambus was one of the founding members of the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1877 and, after a devastating fire and a long dormancy, went on to become one of Scotland's largest grain distilleries.

History

Cambus Distillery was founded in 1806 by John Moubray, who converted a disused mill on the banks of the River Devon, near its confluence with the River Forth at Alloa, into a distillery. It initially produced Lowland malt whisky using pot stills. In 1836, shortly after Robert Stein's continuous still had been developed nearby, Cambus was converted to grain whisky production, becoming one of the pioneering Lowland grain distilleries of the era.

By 1877, Cambus was one of six Lowland grain distilleries that amalgamated to form the Distillers Company Limited (DCL), the industrial predecessor of what is today Diageo. By 1886 the site had grown substantially, comprising around eight acres with warehouses, grain stores, three still houses and an engine house.

In July 1914, a major fire destroyed much of the distillery, and the site remained out of production for 23 years. Cambus was rebuilt at considerable expense and reopened in 1937, only for whisky production to be halted again during the Second World War. Production later resumed, and Cambus continued as a working grain distillery, latterly under DCL and then United Distillers, until it was finally closed in 1993.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 1806
• Owner: Diageo
• Status: Closed (1993)

Closure & Legacy

Cambus Distillery ceased whisky production in 1993 after operating, with interruptions, for close to two centuries. Rather than being demolished, the site was retained by its owner for warehousing and cask operations, reflecting its long history as a major bonded storage location — by the mid-20th century, associated warehousing at the nearby Blackgrange Bond held tens of thousands of casks. In 2011, the former distillery site was converted into a cooperage, taking over barrel-making operations previously carried out at the nearby, also-closed Carsebridge Distillery.

Because Cambus's output was almost entirely grain whisky destined for blending rather than for bottling as a single grain, original single-distillery bottlings are scarce. Independent bottlers have occasionally released single grain expressions under the Cambus name, and these limited releases are of interest to collectors of rare Lowland grain whisky, though they surface infrequently on the market.