Once fully matured, Kingsbarns’ whisky will be a classic floral and fruity Lowland single malt. While the Wemyss family plans to primarily age the whisky in first-fill ex-Bourbon barrels, they have several expressions in mind to showcase the spirit’s versatility. The distillery took five years to develop from an idea by former golf caddie Douglas Clement into a fully operational whisky distillery, with just 18 months dedicated to its construction. Like many new distilleries, securing working capital was crucial, but Clement had none. However, he did have a collection of business cards gathered over 13 years of working as a caddie for affluent golfers at Kingsbarns Golf Links, located just a few miles from St Andrews.
Seeing a lack of nearby distilleries to satisfy the curiosity of golfers, and discovering a derelict 18th-century farm building on the Cambo Estate, Clement decided to create his own distillery. He raised the initial £100,000 in seed capital from 32 investors, many of whom were golfers he had worked with at Kingsbarns, which helped him secure planning permission for the transformation. However, two years of fundraising through crowdfunding and government grants still left him short of the £1.6 million needed to build the distillery. Even with a £670,000 Scottish government grant in 2012, Clement’s target remained unmet.
His persistence, however, caught the attention of the Wemyss family, owners of Wemyss Malts, who also had historical ties to the site—having once owned part of the Cambo Estate in the 18th century. In January 2013, Clement sold the business to the Wemyss family, with Clement staying on as a director. With full funding secured, construction of Kingsbarns distillery began within six months and was completed within 18 months.
The small distillery aims to fill just 24 casks per week (producing 140,000 litres per year), though fully matured whisky will not be available until at least 2018.
