📌 Kingsbarns, Fife
★★★
The story of Kingsbarns Distillery is closely linked to golf – unsurprising given its proximity to St Andrews. Local golf caddie Douglas Clement noticed the curious dearth of distilleries in eastern Fife, despite a wealth of potential clients who flocked to the region to play the links game in its purest form. Poor in money but rich in contacts, he gathered capital from wealthy golfers to set up his own distillery. Money ran out but the venture was sold to the Wemyss family and construction started in 2013. Kingsbarns is therefore one of Scotland’s youngest distilleries; production only began in 2015, meaning whisky couldn’t be legally bottled until 2018. We were instead able to taste a varied selection of Wemyss Malts – blends from elsewhere in Scotland – on our 2017 visit, before following this up with a tasting of the “homegrown” product in 2020. Tours start with an excellent film and exhibition, followed by the production area itself – which is housed in a single room. Oh, and they make gin too, under the separate Darnley’s label.
🌍 Location
📌 Off the A917 1 mi south of Kingsbarns
🧭 O.S. Grid Reference: NO 603107
🛰️ GPS coordinates: 56.287353,-2.642495
🚌 Bus stops on A917 at Cambo Lodge
🚗 Car park
📝 Key info
⌚ Daily – booking advised
🎫 £14+ adult depending on tour type / £4 child
