KINGDOM OF WHISKY

Fife is fast becoming one of Scotland’s most exciting whisky producing regions says Blair Bowman

Blair Bowman is following Fife's whisky fortunes with interest

Did you know that the Kingdom of Fife is home to some of Scotland’s newest and most exciting whisky distilleries? There are five fully-fledged single malt distilleries in Fife, not to mention Cameronbridge, Diageo’s behemoth grain distillery which is also home to Leven, their experimental single malt distillery. The Lowland region is making a comeback and is here to stay with some exciting visitor experiences and interesting whisky releases in the pipeline.

Daftmill Distillery near Cupar was founded in 2005 by two brothers, and has been flying under the radar for some time. It has been operational for as long as Kilchoman Distillery on Islay but hasn’t yet released a drop of whisky for sale. However, the distillery announced last year that the first whisky will be released in 2018 and it will be a 12-year-old.

Kingsbarns Distillery was founded in 2009 by Douglas Clement, a caddy who saw an opportunity. Douglas was often caddying for Americans who were playing the famous golf courses of Fife. They would inevitably ask where the nearest distillery was and at that time it was Tullibardine, a good 60-mile drive away.

Douglas spent five years raising capital to fund the distillery next to Kingsbarns Golf Course, however fell short of the amount needed, and took the decision to sell it to the Wemyss Family, who own Wemyss Malts and the Darnley’s View gin range. They converted derelict farm steadings into a sleek and modern single malt distillery. On 23 March 2018 their spirit came of age and is now officially being bottled as whisky, so I look forward to tasting their new three-year-old soon.

Eden Mill Distillery and Brewery in Guardbridge outside St Andrews is one of Scotland’s first brewery and distillery hybrids and started production in 2014. They are especially well-known for their gins and are the official gin of the Scottish rugby team. They also have a product called ‘Golf Gin’ and offer gin blending experiences in a space adjacent to the 18th hole of the Old Course at St Andrews.

Only eight casks of whisky are filled per week at Eden Mill and I look forward to seeing how their approach to using brewery styles of malted barley will taste in their newly of-age whisky. The company employs six fully-qualified distillers and two trainee distillers, which is without doubt the highest number of distillers per litre of whisky of any distillery in Scotland. They have also recently announced a £4m expansion of the distillery.

I have written before about Inchdairnie Distillery for this column, and surmise to say it’s a futuristic and modern distillery unlike anything I have seen before. They have also been quite coy about their plans and aren’t open for visitors, but a countdown clock on their website reveals that they’ll release their first whisky to the market in 2029. I suspect you won’t hear much more about them until then.

The most recent distillery to open in Fife, and the one with the most historic connection, is Lindores Abbey Distillery. The oldest records of distilling in Scotland can be traced back to 1494 and Friar John Cor of Lindores Abbey.

I visited in 2013, when it was still a derelict farm steading and met Drew and Helen McKenzie-Smith, who explained their vision. The fully functioning distillery is now open to the public, but rather than making a gin, they have used the connection to the monks and built an apothecary as part of the visitor centre. Their first release is an aqua vitae while they wait for their whisky to mature.

So, is Fife the next Speyside? I’m not sure about that but it is certainly worth a visit. Each of the distilleries mentioned above have their own look and feel and anybody new to whisky or a well-established whisky aficionado is sure to enjoy a visit. The visitor experience is now a fundamental part of the brand, not just the whisky. I look forward to seeing more from these new Fifers soon.

“The Lowland region is here to stay with interesting whisky releases in the pipeline