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Kingsbarns and the devils from down under
by Gavin D Smith, 06/09
The 'Kingdom' of Fife has long and proud associations with Scotch whisky. The very earliest surviving record relating to Scotch, dating from 1494, makes reference to Lindores Abbey, near Newburgh, and the county is also
synonymous with great whisky names such as John Haig.
Today, Fife boasts a brace of distilleries at opposite ends of the scale in terms of size and output, namely Diageo's giant, grain distilling facility at Cameronbridge and the Cuthbert
family's 'boutique' farm-based distillery at Daftmill, near Cupar. Soon, however, if ambitious plans come to fruition, Fife may have a third working distillery.
"Despite its fantastic heritage, there is no operational Fife distillery with visitor facilities to showcase and learn about Scotland's national drink," says Doug Clement, who currently
combines golf caddying duties with a pro-active role in the Kingsbarns project, in association with golfing, tourism and whisky entrepreneur Greg Ramsay, from Tasmania. "Whisky is one of our proudest exports,"
notes Clement, "but for the many visitors who flock to the St Andrews area, they have to travel over an hour more to actually visit a distillery."
The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers Ltd plans to convert the disused, historic East Newhall farm steading on the Cambo Estate (pictured, right), between St Andrews and Crail, into a working distillery and
visitor centre.
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The Estate has been home to the Erskine family since 1688 and adjoins the renowned Kingsbarns Golf Links, where Doug Clement currently plies his trade.
Central to the creation of Kingsbarns Distillery is Bill Lark, founder of Lark Distillery in Tasmania and the 'godfather' of modern Australian whisky-making Lark commands respect
throughout the world of craft distilling and, in a 'coals to Newcastle' exercise, will bring his expertise to bear on the development of Kingsbarns.
The 'Tasmanian connection' comes about because Greg Ramsay met Doug Clement while caddying at Kingsbarns Links, and subsequently went on to create Nant Distillery at Bothwell in his native Tasmania, with Bill Lark being heavily involved in its development.
"My ancestor Gregor McGregor was a distiller at Mortlach in Dufftown before emigrating to Australia in the 1870s," says Ramsay. "But it wasn't until Doug came to visit Tasmania and saw our Nant Distillery in Tasmania's highlands that we started discussing how a similar proposal near St. Andrews could fill a gap in Scotland's whisky geography, and Doug has put together a wonderful site with a terrific team of local development experience."
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Bill Lark notes that "Through many years of experimentation, with plenty of trial and error, we have demonstrated in Tasmania that by studying the old ways and returning to small batch whisky production, we can cost effectively produce a single malt whisky that has really exceeded all expectations we had. We have been very grateful for the support and interest we've received from the Scottish industry, and are looking forward to working here in the birthplace of great malt whisky."
One of Lark's innovations has been the use of quarter casks to accelerate maturation, and using this method at Kingsbarns, it is reckoned that mature single malt whisky could be on the market within five years of the commencement of production. The stills and other plant would be fabricated in Tasmania and shipped to Britain, significantly reducing start-up costs.
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Output would be in the region of 90,000 litres when the plant was operating at full capacity, producing a traditional, Lowland-style of spirit, while the sale of white spirits and the presence of a visitor centre and café would give an income stream during the years before Kingsbarns whisky was ready to sell.
The use of the conditional tense in the paragraphs above is significant, since at present the entire distillery venture depends on raising a significant amount of capital from investors. However, forward planning and research have been very thorough, and the requisite professionals are on board, giving this exciting project the very best chance of success.
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