Cambus
The exact details of the founding of Cambus distillery are somewhat murky as dates and accounts vary, what is clear is that in 1806 a distillery was founded in Cambus. The next record show John Mowbray (MourBray) registered the business in 1813, and gaining land title in 1823.
In 1836 Cambus became on of many Scotch distilleries to introduce a Robert Stein style ‘continuous column’ still, in essence converting from Malt to what we now call Grain. Cambus is noteworthy as one of the 6 Lowland grain distillers that became DCL, and later Diagio. The distillery was also recorded by the famed brewing and distilling historian Alfred Bernard who visited the site in 1885 recording that ‘rail sidings ran to all the principal warehouses’ and that the six huge warehouses on an 8 acre site held some 17,000 casks containing 1.4 million gallons, he also notes that such was their production that the site had 7 Excise officers. It’s protected position as part of DCL saw Cambus survive and even thrive the pre-war period until a fire in 1914 saw much of the complex destroyed.
Rebuilt in 1937 with production beginning in December the distillery fell silent again at the outbreak of the second world war. Ultimately in spite of constant innovation and upgrade including the fitting of rectifiers, carbon dioxide processing and a cattle feed drying plant the vast distillery fell surplus to requirements. Distilling was concentrated in the Cameronbridge, and now closed Port Dundas distilleries. The site now holds Diagio’s cooperage. Contrary to a number of domains the ‘Scotch Watch’ guard geese were found at Dumbarton rather than the Cambus distillery
Distillery Factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambus | Lowlands | Scotland | ||
| Status | Active | Whisky Type | Website | Tours Available |
| Closed | 1806 - 1993 | Grain | Cambus | Not Available |
| Manager | Distiller | Blender | Owned by | Parent Group |
| Diageo |
Cambus Timeline:
1806: A malt whisky distillery was founded in Cambus in 1806
1813: John Moubray establishes, or re-establishes the Cambus distillery
1836: Cambus is converted from malt to grain output with the addition of a Robert Stein style 'continuous column' still
1842: James Moubray, John's son, takes over the business
1843: John's grandson Robert Moubray assumes control of the distillery
1851: Robert modernises the distillery with addition of a Coffey still allowing the creation of 250 gallons per hour
1877: Cambus becomes part of the newly-formed Distillers Company Limited (DCL)
1882: DCL acquires the adjacent Old Cambus Brewery and expands the distillery
1906: Cambus advertises it's grain on the front page of The Daily Mail as 'Not a headache in a gallon'
1914: Fire ravages the distillery, forcing its closure
1937: Cambus is completely rebuilt at the cost of £275,000 and resumes production but ceases after only 2 years due to the second world war
1944: Cambus is reopened and resumes distilling
1964: Cambus becomes the first distillery to introduce an onsite waste processing plant
1993: The distillery is closed
2011: Diageo's restructure sees the coopering operations from Dundashill and Carsebridge moved to a new onsite cooperage