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Construction to Begin at Kingsbarns Distillery in Scotland

June 3, 2013 – Final planning permission has been granted for restoration and construction work on the site of the future Kingsbarns Distillery near St. Andrews. Work will begin soon at the East Newhall Farm steading on the Cambo Estate, with construction of the distillery and visitors center expected to take around a year.

The project had languished for several years while founding director Doug Clement tried to find investors, but gained steam in January when Wemyss Malts accquired Kingsbarns and secured financing with help from a Scottish  Government economic development grant. During an interview in Episode 406 of WhiskyCast, William Wemyss noted that his family had been involved in the whisky industry for generations, but had never owned its own distillery until joining the Kingsbarns project. He expects the distillery to not only benefit from whisky sales, but from its natural location as a tourist destination near the legendary golf links in St. Andrews.

“There is no malt whisky distillery within an hour of St. Andrews, and St. Andrews has a very good area for tourism, both within the UK and from overseas, so we thought this area really deserved a malt whisky distillery.”

Initial work at the site will focus on preserving the historic farm building’s roof and stonework, following the grating of permits by Fife Council and Historic Scotland. Architectural work continues on the layout for the distillery, visitors center, gift shop, and cafe areas, according to a news release.


Links: Kingsbarns Distillery | Wemyss Malts