The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers

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The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers Profile

The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers was established by former golf caddie Douglas Clement to build and operate a new distillery in Fife.

Fundraising proved a sticking point for Clement, despite interest from a group of private backers and even a government grant.

Eventually the project was bought out by Wemyss Distillery Ltd, owned by the Wemyss family, which opened Kingsbarns distillery and visitor centre in December 2014.

The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers History

Clement dreamed of building his own whisky distillery near Kingsbarns Golf Links in Fife, and established The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers in 2009 to realise that dream.

Clement spent the next five years raising the capital needed to build Kingsbarns distillery, the initial £100,000 of which was injected by 32 private investors, many of whom were members of Clement’s former golf club.

A further £670,000 came from a government grant, but despite a high-profile crowdfunding campaign The Kingsbarns Company of Distillers fell short of the £1.6 million needed to build the distillery.

Unable to reach his target alone, Clement sold the business to Wemyss Distillery Ltd, which is owned by the Wemyss family, founders of independent bottler Wemyss Malts in 2013. Six months later building had begun on the distillery, which was operational by the end of 2014.