Kingsbarns Coaltown

Kingsbarns distillery was built by the Wemyss family, known for their Wemyss Malts independent whisky bottlings and also Darnley’s Gin. It opened in late 2014, producing a light, floral and fruity spirit with slow fermentation and distillation, and an early cut point. Ordinarily this would be filled into first-fill bourbon barrels as well as some STR (shaved, toasted and recharred) red wine casks, the latter being a speciality of the late, great consultant Jim Swan we’ve seen used elsewhere by Nc’Nean, Penderyn, Cotswolds, Lindores Abbey and Milk & Honey in Pour & Sip over the years.

Here, however, Coaltown (named after the mining village near Wemyss Castle, the family’s ancestral home) has been matured entirely in casks that previously held peated whisky. The barley is entirely unpeated, so the elegant, subtle smoky influence is imparted solely by the casks.