Glengyle
Campbeltown malt distillery.
Kilkerran
Brand
The single malt whisky brand produced at Campbeltown’s Glengyle distillery.
Kilkerran Profile
Campbeltown Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Kilkerran single malt was born from the rebirth of Glengyle distillery in 2004. The Campbeltown distillery, which had closed in 1925, was reopened after the turn of the century by J&A Mitchell. However, the Glengyle brand name had been previously sold to Bloch Bros, leaving the distillery’s new owners to consider an alternative name for its single malt. Kilkerran – Cille Chiarain in Gaelic – is the original name of Campbeltown.
Lightly peated and non-chill-filtered, the 12-year-old is matured 70% in ex-Bourbon casks and 30% in ex-Sherry casks. The result is a far cry from the traditional heavy malt distilled at Glengyle during the Victorian era.
The annual ‘Work-in-Progress’ releases were matured either in ex-Bourbon or ex-Sherry and were released in quantities of between nine and 18,000 bottles.
Kilkerran History
Glengyle distillery was founded by William Mitchell in 1872, and it remained in family ownership until 1919. After it was closed by West Highland Malt Distilleries in 1925 the distillery and remaining stocks were acquired by Bloch Bros, which had also bought Glen Scotia.
The distillery was silent for three-quarters of a century, but was purchased by J&A Mitchell in 2000. Four years later Glengyle was reopened, and its first Kilkerran single malt released in 2009 as a 5-year-old ‘Work-in-Progress’ expression. Annual work in progress releases continued thereafter until 2015.
In 2016 a permanent 12-year-old expression was released.
Timeline
- 1872 Glengyle distillery is built by William Mitchell
- 1919 Mitchell sells the distillery to West Highland Malt Distillers
- 1925 Glengyle distillery is closed
- 1941 Bloch Bros acquires the distillery with ambitions to reopen, but WWII intervened
- 2000 Mitchell’s Glengyle Ltd, a subsidiary of J&A Mitchell, purchases the distillery buildings. The Glengyle brand remained with Bloch Bros
- 2004 Glengyle starts distilling Kilkerran malt spirit
- 2009 The first Kilkerran ‘Work-in-Progress’ annual release is revealed
- 2016 The first 12-year-old Kilkerran expression is released
Owners
Contact
- Address
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Kilkerran
Mitchell's Glengyle Limited
9 Bolgam Street
Campbeltown
Argyll
PA28 6HZ
United Kingdom - Phone
- +44 1586 555428
- Visitor Opening Hours
- Not open to the public
Map
See also
-
Distillery
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Distillery
Springside
Campbeltown’s smallest distillery, Springside managed to survive an astonishing 99 years.