Image
Discover and bid on old, rare and collectible whiskies in our online auctions each month.
Cambus
Cambus distillery was a grain whisky producer in the Lowland region of Scotland. It was built in 1806 by John Mowbray, originally distilled whisky from malted barley before switching to grain thirty years later. The distillery was one of the founding members of the Distillery Company in 1877 and remained part of the organisation for the remainder of its history.
The distillery was closed down in 1993 by Guinness PLC as its United Distillers subsidiary sought to consolidate its grain production at Cameronbridge. Since 2011 the site has been used as a cooperage by Diageo.
Cambus distillery was used as the poster boy by the Distillers Company during the infamous "What is Whisky?" trials at the turn of the 20th century, when malt distillers rebelled against the company's use of the term whisky to describe its single grain spirit. The Distillers Company (DCL) began bottling Cambus single grain, notably placing an advertisement for it on the front page of The Daily Mail newspaper in 1906. Very much a publicity stunt intended to sway public and jury opinion, the advertising and products were quietly withdrawn having successfully obtained DCL's desired outcome in 1908.
A Cambus single grain brand was bottled again in the 1980s by DCL however, and was available as two unusual cask strength 13- and 15-year-old expressions. A non-age statement release was also marketed by United Distillers in the very early 1990s. Only a single official bottling has been released since its closure, a 40-year-old included in the 2016 batch of Special Releases from Diageo.
Current owner
Diageo Global Supply
Station Road
Cambus
Clackmannshire
FK10 2NZ
Scotland
Former brands
Single Grain
