STIRLING DISTILLERY FIELD GUIDE
Distil Your Own Gin in a Victorian Stirling Smiddy
A 2.5-hour workshop at Stirling Distillery where you select botanicals, run a mini still and bottle a personalized gin—this guide explains the flow and what to expect.
Distil Your Own Gin in a Victorian Stirling Smiddy.
Set inside a stunning Victorian building in Stirling, The Old Smiddy Gin School is a hands-on 2.5‑hour workshop in which participants are welcomed with a bespoke cocktail, led through gin’s history and the science of distillation, choose botanicals at their own mini still, and leave with a bottled spirit labelled by them.
Highlights
Outing Highlights
A Victorian distillery classroom
Participants are shown around a striking Victorian building on arrival and seated at individual mini stills for a hands-on distilling session.
From botanicals to bottle
Over the workshop you charge your still, choose flavours from a selection of botanicals, test the distillate as it comes off the condenser, and bottle your finished gin with a personalised Old Smiddy Gin School label to take home.
Welcome cocktail and perfect serve
The experience begins with a bespoke welcome cocktail and finishes with a Stirling Gin perfect serve alongside a G&T made from your very own creation.
What the day feels like
What the workshop feels like
The session unfolds like a short laboratory course and tasting: welcomed with a cocktail, you sit at an individual mini still, hear a guided run‑through of gin’s history and the science behind distillation, select botanicals to build a recipe, monitor and taste the spirit as it condenses, and finish by bottling and labelling your own gin before enjoying a perfect serve.
THE SETTING
A Victorian distillery classroom
Participants are shown around a striking Victorian building on arrival and seated at individual mini stills for a hands-on distilling session.
THE PROCESS
From botanicals to bottle
Over the workshop you charge your still, choose flavours from a selection of botanicals, test the distillate as it comes off the condenser, and bottle your finished gin with a personalised Old Smiddy Gin School label to take home.
THE TASTE
Welcome cocktail and perfect serve
The experience begins with a bespoke welcome cocktail and finishes with a Stirling Gin perfect serve alongside a G&T made from your very own creation.
Suitability
Who it's for
Who this workshop suits — and who should look elsewhere.
Practical planner
Details to review before reserving
No special gear is required; participants are seated at their own mini still provided by the distillery for the hands‑on portion of the workshop.
Review cancellation policies before reserving.
Frequently asked questions
Planning Your Outing
How long is the workshop?
The workshop runs for 2.5 hours.
Is there an age requirement?
Yes — participants must be aged 18 or over.
Will I distil and take home my own gin?
Yes — over the session you choose botanicals, distil and bottle your unique gin with a personalised Old Smiddy Gin School label to take home.
Are drinks included?
Yes — the experience begins with a bespoke welcome cocktail and ends with a Stirling Gin perfect serve and a G&T made from your creation.
What will I learn during the session?
You’ll hear a run‑through of gin’s history, learn the science of distilling, and be shown a selection of botanicals to create your own flavour profile.
Where does the workshop take place?
The workshop takes place at Stirling Distillery in its Victorian building, where you are welcomed on arrival.