The Cameronbridge distillery was built in 1824 along with the establishment of John Haig & Co, a legendary blending company with links to both the Haig and Stein distilling dynasties. John Haig always had his finger firmly on the pulse of modernisation, and was one of the first distillers to use patent stills. When Alfred Barnard visited in the 1880s, the distillery operating two Stein patent stills (invented by his cousin, Robert), two coffey stills and pot still for producing Irish style grain.