Kingsbarns
Perhaps the least likely distillery to exist Kingsbarns was the brain child of Douglas Clement, a former pro golf caddy with no background in the industry. Happily he had sufficient connection to wealthy investors and a little luck. Clement notes that he was "fed up sending my golfing clients out of Fife to visit a distillery and I thought, surely there’s an opportunity to create a distillery close to the golf courses?”/q>. With a £1.6 million target, despite securing £100,000 funding and a government grant of £670,000 it looked unlikely that Clement’s dream of a Kingsbarns distillery would go ahead.
Happily the attempt attracted the attention of the Wemyss family (owners of Wemyss Malts) who co-incidentally had owned part of the Cambo Estate between 1759 and 1783. In January 2013, in a buyout that saw Clement remaining as a director the the business was sold to the Wemyss family. Work began on Kingsbarns distillery within six months and the distillery was up and running within 18 months.
Distillery Factsheet
| Name | Pronounced | AKA | Region | Country of Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kingsbarns | Lowlands | Scotland | ||
| Status | Active | Whisky Type | Website | Tours Available |
| Active | 2014 - Present | Malt | Kingsbarns | Tour Link |
| Manager | Distiller | Blender | Owned by | Parent Group |
| Douglas Clement | Douglas Clement |
Kingsbarns Timeline:
2009: Douglas Clement raises £100,000 funding to begin the development project
2012: The Scottish Government Food Processing Marketing and Co-operation Grant of £670,000 is awarded to the project
2013: Falling short of the £1.6 million needed Clement sells the company to the Wemyss family
2014: Visitor Centre was opened on St Andrews Day
2015: Distilling started in January
2018: The first whisky (3 years of age) will be ready in 2018