Kingsbarns originated from a simple observation: golf caddie Douglas Clement repeatedly heard visitors to St Andrews asking for a distillery nearby, even though there wasn't one. Since 2009, he searched for a suitable location and found it at East Newhall Farm, a dilapidated 18th-century farmhouse by the coast. Since 2013, the Wemyss family — also owners of Wemyss Malts and Darnley's Gin — has supported the project, and after three years of careful restoration, Kingsbarns officially opened its doors on November 30, 2014.
The whiskies themselves are predominantly soft and floral, in the classic Lowland tradition: the signature bottling Balcomie is honey-sweet from ex-bourbon casks. But with Coaltown, Kingsbarns dares to deviate from that tradition — a peated single malt, named after the coal mining history of Fife, in a region where smoky whisky is quite rare.