Kirkliston

In 1877 Kirkliston Distillery was one of the five distilleries to form the Distillers Company Ltd.  The distillery near Edinburgh was establiehed in 1795 under the name of Lambsmiln and was bought by a member of the Stein distilling dynasty Andrew Stein in 1825. Stein installed one of the first continuous malt triple stills in Scotland.

In 1831 the distillery changed its name and proprietors to Patent Distillery Co. Alfred Barnard visited the distillery on his tour through the United Kingdom in the 1880‘s:

„To reach this Distillery we took the early train from the Waverley Station (Edinburgh), and in half-an-hour found ourselves at Kirkliston. It is a pretty village about eight miles from Edinburgh, situated on the river Almond, which flows by the Distillery before passing through Kirkliston.

From the higher ground of the churchyard we had a striking view of the surrounding country, embracing the estate of Newliston, with its pleasure grounds, formerly the property of the Earl of Stair...About two miles distant from the church is Niddry Castle, the asylum for a time of Mary Queen of Scots when fleeing from Lochleven Castle. In another direction can be seen the hill where King Edward rested his troops on his war to Bannockburn, and further on, the Fife coast, with the Ochil Hills in the background.

We then turned our steps towards the Distillery, situated at the foot of the hill just outside the village, and here caught sight of the river Almond. At a short distance above the works the river has high sloping banks and picturesque surroundings, but as it nears Kirkliston it becomes somewhat tame and uninteresting. This Distillery, which covers twelve acres of ground, was in existence at the end of the last century, and in 1825 was much enlarged and improved. The works were formerly the property of Messrs. John Stewart and co., who purchased them in the year 1855 from Messrs. Buchan & Co. At that time the Distillery turned out about 2,000 gallons a week, but now, at a push, it has made 20,000 gallons in the same time. In 1878 it was acquired by the distillers Company, Limited, Mr. Stewart remaining Managing Director, assisted by his son, Mr. J. C. Stewart, who acts as his Sub-Manager. The water used in the Distillery is brought from two sources, Craigmaiellen and the Humbie Burns, and is collected into two reservoirs above the works. One of them, the Humbie reservoir, covers eight acres, and the other, the Kirkliston, two acres.“

Alfred Barnard. The Whisky Distilleries of the United Kingdom.

Distilling ended in 1920. Afterwards it became a malting site with Saladin boxes which produced malt and yeast for the Distillers Company Limited (DCL).

There is no access. Strictly private.

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