Kingsbarns Distillery in Fife, established in 2014 and owned by Wemyss Family Spirits, has announced a significant multi-million-pound investment program. The investment will allow it to increase its production capacity by 40% as it celebrates its 10th anniversary year and will support the release of new 10 and 12-year-old aged expressions.
It includes the installation of a new 20,000-litre washback, a critical component in the whisky fermentation process and the implementation of a major heat recovery system designed to reduce energy use which includes a wash charging tank and heat exchanger to capture and reuse heat from previous distillation runs.
In parallel with these upgrades at their East Neuk site, Kingsbarns is also developing a large-scale warehousing complex in Glenrothes which will substantially increase the distillery’s storage capacity, enabling it to meet the growing demand for its Lowland single malts.
William Wemyss, founder of Wemyss Family Spirits said, “We’ve developed a real foothold in the market for Lowland whiskies and now need to substantially increase our stocks of maturing spirit to meet the thirst for this delicate, fruit-forward malt.
“As the distillery approaches its 10th anniversary, this expansion will allow us to ramp up production while gaining better control over specialised maturation and bottling when we start releasing 10 and 12 year-old aged expressions over the coming years.”
Distillery Manager Peter Holroyd noted that despite the expansion, the distillery remains committed to maintaining its distinctive character. “While vastly increasing our scale, it’s critically important these changes don’t alter the fruity, elegant house style our team has diligently created,” he said.
