Kennet Distillery

I'm pretty sure there's something warped about enjoying the weekly shop, but today's trolley dash was actually pretty bearable. The whole gang tagged along today which helped dull the pain I suppose, then afterwards we took a long scenic route home.

Ended up down on the banks of the River Forth at Kennet Pans and went exploring the sad, old abandoned distillery that's slowly being reclaimed by nature. Back in its day it was, along with the Stein family's bigger distillery nearby at Kilbagie, the largest producer of whisky in Scotland and operating at the forefront of Scotland's Industrial Revolution. One thing I hadn't known before today's visit was that an Alloa resident and employee , John Jameson, moved to Dublin to work in one of the Stein's other distilleries. He worked his way up through the ranks until he eventually took over and renamed the distillery 'John Jameson & Son'. Jamesons is today still Ireland's leading whiskey brand.

There's an interesting website with lots more info on the place, also highlighting a campaign to try and preserve this fascinating piece of local history. It would be a real shame if it disappeared.

EDIT: Found a BBC Documentary visiting this site - Addicted to Pleasure:Whisky - featured around 20 minutes in.