Cameronbridge Distillery: Fife's Grain Giant, Founded by a Haig in 1824

Cameronbridge in Fife has distilled grain whisky since John Haig founded it in 1824. It is now the largest grain distillery in Scotland and Diageo's only wholly owned grain distillery, supplying spirit for blends such as Johnnie Walker. The same site also makes the grain spirit behind Gordon's and Tanqueray gins and Smirnoff vodka.

Cameronbridge at a glance

History of Cameronbridge

John Haig came from a family of Lowland distillers and founded Cameronbridge in 1824. Within a few years the distillery was running a patent still invented by his cousin Robert Stein. Irish engineer Aeneas Coffey then improved on the design, and Haig installed one of his stills. The same Coffey design is still used at Cameronbridge today, at a larger scale.

In 1865 Haig joined an alliance with other grain distillers, and in 1877 it became the Distillers Company Limited, the ancestor of Diageo. Diageo has owned Cameronbridge since 1997, and when Port Dundas closed in 2010 it became the company's only wholly owned grain distillery. A £40m expansion followed in 2007. In 2014 the distillery became the source of Haig Club, the Lowland single grain endorsed by David Beckham.

How Cameronbridge makes its whisky

Cameronbridge runs three Coffey stills. Grain is milled and cooked before fermentation, and the continuous distillation gives a light, clean spirit. Grain whisky from the site is matured in oak. The distillery is not open to the public.

Cameronbridge and independent bottlers

Most of the spirit goes into Diageo blends, among them Johnnie Walker, and into the group's gin and vodka. Independent bottlers have released aged single grain from Cameronbridge from time to time, and the distillery's own Cameron Brig label has sold as a single grain. Aged examples tend to show vanilla and soft sweetness, because long years in oak do the work that a light spirit leaves open.

Cameronbridge and The Single Cask

Casks from Cameronbridge are not something we list publicly. If a soft, sweet single grain style interests you, tell us what you are looking for and we will say honestly what we can and cannot source.

Plan a bottling inspired by Cameronbridge

A grain distillery that helped create the company behind half the blends on the shelf has a ready made story for a bottling. If that appeals for your own project, start with our whisky casks available page, or read about buying a whisky cask and the four steps to bottling your own whisky. For something under your own name, our private label whisky service covers that end to end. For more on grain whisky, see our guides to Invergordon, Girvan and Strathclyde.

We hold a wide range of casks to sell to independent bottlers and private customers, drawn from many different distilleries, finished in a variety of wood types from sherry and port casks to bourbon and rum, with real differences in yeast and production style from one distillery to the next. If you are an independent bottler looking for stock, or you have always wanted a cask of your own, talk to us about what we currently hold in the warehouse. Where we don't hold the exact distillery featured in this guide, we say so honestly, and you are welcome to ask what we can currently source.

If you have questions about any of this, or about Cameronbridge in particular, our contact page is the fastest way to reach us.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded Cameronbridge Distillery?

John Haig, in 1824.

Where is Cameronbridge Distillery?

At Cameron Bridge, near Leven in Fife.

Who owns Cameronbridge?

Diageo, which has owned it since 1997.

What stills does Cameronbridge use?

Three Coffey stills, a continuous column design.

What is Haig Club?

A Lowland single grain whisky launched in 2014, made at Cameronbridge and endorsed by David Beckham.

Does The Single Cask list a Cameronbridge cask?

Not publicly. Contact us and we will say honestly what we can source.