Clackmannanshire Whisky Trail

Drinks Heritage

The Clackmannanshire Whisky Heritage Trail is a great way to bring the region's whisky distilling past to life. The birthplace of the Scottish Whisky Industry continues to play a critical role in a global industry which is today worth over billions to the the Scottish economy.

Diageo is one of Clackmannanshire's biggest employers in the region, and are a key contributor to the promotion of its whisky heritage, with their existing operations;

• Coppersmith workshop in Alloa
• European Technical Centre and Archive in Menstrie
• Cambus is the company's Scottish cooperage base
• The bond at Blackgrange is the largest warehouse complex in Europe holding about three million casks

Family History

Clackmannanshire has a wealth of heritage and history. Go back in time and you will find that Clackmannanshire’s influence on the Scotch whisky industry was enormous.

Kennetpans Distillery was founded in the 1720s by the Stein family and became the largest distillery in Scotland. Situated on the Firth of Forth, the ruins of what was once considered to be the home of whisky distilling and the birthplace of one of the world’s most famous whisky brands – Haig – have become a pilgrimage for whisky fans over the years.

• Kennetpans and neighbouring Kilbagie distilleries are names largely forgotten, but were once at the centre of a modernising whisky industry.
• The birthplace of John Jameson, founder of Jameson Irish Whiskey, Clackmannanshire can claim that one of her own created the third highest selling whiskey in the world.
• To this day John remains in Clackmannanshire, buried in Alloa Old Kirkyard in 1823, where his wife, Margaret Haig, rests with him.

Diageo has made it possible for Clackmannanshire to promote its whisky heritage. The trail, for the most part, is on the National Cycle Route 76 with interpretation at:

• Kennetpans Distillery ruins
• Alloa Old Kirkyard where the Jameson family grave can be seen
• The Northern Glass Cone, Alloa Glass Works at Craigward, one of only four surviving glass cones in the United Kingdom
• The Category A listed Cambus Bridge at Cambus Cooperage
• The iconic Speirs Centre in Alloa to access local and family history facilities with access to all of Scotland's birth, death, marriage, old parish records, open censuses and much more

The Stein’s, Haigs and Jamesons would be rightly proud of the wonderful work in preserving both Scottish Whisky and Irish Whiskey Heritage.

VisitScotland

From the source of the water to the shape of the still, coopering and casking, a visit to Scotland will help to explain what makes every Scotch Whisky different. 

Save time and relax with a few drams as you travel with the Caledonian Sleeper train overnight from London to Scotland.