Stirling Distillery is a gin and single malt whisky distillery in Stirling, Scotland. The distillery is located at the foot of Stirling Castle.
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| Location | 9 Lower Castlehill, Stirling FK8 1EN, Scotland, United Kingdom |
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| Coordinates | 56°07′24″N 3°56′39″W / 56.1234°N 3.9442°W |
| Owner | June McCann Cameron McCann |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Status | Operational |
| No. of stills | 300 litre alembic[1] |
| Capacity | 20,000 litres[2] |
| Website | stirlingdistillery |
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History
editThe company was founded in 2015 by couple June and Cameron McCann, who previously owned an art gallery and gift shop in Stirling. The distillery building, a former blacksmith's, was purchased in 2017, and opened to the public in 2019.[3] The site had been derelict for some years, without an internal floor, electricity or water.[1] During the construction period, the site was visited by Bruce Crawford MSP.[4]
In 2021, the distillery changed the name of its Pink Lady gin, named after a ghost said to haunt Stirling Castle, after facing legal action from Apple and Pear Australia Limited (APAL), the owners of the Pink Lady trademark.[5] In 2024, Stirling Gin was listed with supermarket chain Co-op Food.[6]
In 2023, the distillery were awarded "Visitor Attraction of the Year" at the Stirling Business Awards.[7] In October that year, the first run of new make spirit was made at the distillery, becoming the first whisky to be distilled in Stirling since 1852.[8] The new make was awarded "Best Scottish New Make Spirit" at the World Whisky Awards in 2025.[9]
In January 2026, the distillery announced that they would trial releasing whisky in aluminum bottles.[10]
Products
editThe first gin to be released was Stirling Gin, which uses locally foraged nettles.[1] The test distillations were performed in the McCanns' kitchen, on a miniature 2.4 litre still, which remains on display at the later distillery.[3] Until 2019, the gin was contract distilled between Glasgow distillery and Kinrara distillery.[11] A special edition bottling of the original gin was released to commemorate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.[12]
The second gin release, Battle Strength, was named for the Battle of Stirling Bridge.[6] In 2021, a limited edition gin, The Gin Blue Line, was released in support of policing charities, and used forget-me-nots, sage, and makrut lime.[13] Another limited edition, OlympiGin, was released to commemorate the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and used gold flakes and yuzu.[14]
The distillery independently bottles whisky under the Sons of Scotland brand name.[15] The distillery's own whisky is planned to be released under the name "James VI".[16] A whisky liqueur, Castle Rock, was released in 2025.[17]
References
edit- 1 2 3 "Stirling Distillery". The Gin Cooperative. Archived from the original on 14 August 2025.
- ↑ "Stirling Whisky". Stirling Distillery. Archived from the original on 5 September 2025.
- 1 2 "For the Love of Gin: Cameron & June McCann, Stirling Gin". The Gin Cooperative. 28 April 2020. Archived from the original on 23 June 2024.
- ↑ "Stirling distillery hopes to produce gin by Christmas". Alloa & Hillfoots Advertiser. 24 August 2018. Archived from the original on 5 February 2026.
- ↑ Weldon, Victoria (4 February 2021). "Upsetting the apple cart: Stirling Gin faces Pink Lady apple legal threat". The Herald. Archived from the original on 18 April 2024.
- 1 2 "Stirling Distillery rolls into Co-op stores". Scottish Grocer. 27 September 2024. Archived from the original on 12 December 2025.
- ↑ "Stirling Distillery Win Visitor Attraction of the Year". DRAM. 1 March 2023. Archived from the original on 16 October 2025.
- ↑ Erskine, Rosalind (9 October 2023). "Stirling Distillery has started production of whisky". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 21 July 2025.
- ↑ Chisholm, Alex (28 March 2025). "Stirling Distillery's whisky wins award at World Whiskies". Stirling News. Archived from the original on 4 April 2025.
- ↑ Paul, Andrew (20 January 2026). "Scottish distillery wants to bottle whisky in aluminum, not glass". Popular Science. Archived from the original on 21 January 2026.
- ↑ "A New Chapter in Scottish Gin: As told by Lara Williams, Distillery Manager at Stirling Gin Distillery". The Gin Cooperative. 12 November 2019. Archived from the original on 13 April 2024.
- ↑ "Stirling Distillery Launch Limited Edition Platinum Gin to Celebrate Jubilee". The Scottish Gin Society. 19 May 2022. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024.
- ↑ Erskine, Rosalind (15 November 2021). "Stirling Distillery launches Gin Blue Line to support police mental health charities". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 2 March 2024.
- ↑ "Limited Edition 'OlympiGIN' Gold Gin Launched from Stirling Distillery". The Scottish Gin Society. 22 July 2021. Archived from the original on 27 May 2024.
- ↑ Smith, Kenny (30 April 2021). "Two new whiskies complete Sons of Scotland range". Scottish Field. Archived from the original on 7 December 2024.
- ↑ Carter, Gary (4 April 2022). "After More Than 170 Years, Whisky Distilling Returns To Scottish City Of Stirling". The Whisk(e)y Wash. Archived from the original on 22 July 2025.
- ↑ Skiloyannis, Jason Sergis (26 November 2025). "Stirling Distillery unveils new sweet whisky liqueur". Stirling News. Archived from the original on 6 December 2025.