Glengyle whisky – Campbeltown

Glengyle (Kilkerran) Distillery: History & Whisky Guide | Scottish Delight

The Glengyle distillery was founded by William Mitchell in the city (and whisky region) of Campbeltown in 1872. William and his brother John used to run the Springbank  distillery just down the road together, but William ended up leaving  following an argument over sheep. Glengyle finished completion in 1873, and ran the distillery as the sole proprietor for almost 5 decades. In 1919, the distillery was sold to  West Highland Malt Distilleries Ltd (who also purchased Glen Scotia around the same time), but due to the struggling whisky business at the time, the distillery was sold in 1924, and finally closed in 1925, the remaining whisky being auctioned off.

The Glengyle Distillery
The Glengyle Distillery

It remained closed until roughly the turn of the millennium, though several attempts were made to bring it back to life. Unfortunately, none of them ever led to anything concrete.. The Mitchell family, who still own Springbank to this day, voiced the desire to restart distillery the site of the original one (on the corner of Glebe Street and Glengyle Road, just down the road from Springbank). Reconstruction of the buildings finished in 2003, and after all the equipment (most of which was purchased second hand from the Ben Wyvis distillery) was fitted, the distillery reopened in March 2004. Tours of Glengyle and warehouse tastings are now bookable year-round through the Kilkerran website, including outside the distillery’s short autumn production window.

 

The stills in the Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown
The stills in the Glengyle distillery in Campbeltown

 

Glengyle whisky

Whisky produced at Glengyle is sold under the name Kilkerran. The reason or this is that there’s already a blended whisky marketed under the name of Glengyle, and Kilkeran is the name that the settlement that Campbeltown was built upon once carried.

Core range

  • Kilkerran 12 Year Old – The entry point to the range. Lightly peated, matured 70% in ex-bourbon and 30% in ex-sherry casks, bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered.
  • Kilkerran 16 Year Old – Added to the core range in 2020 and released annually since. Matured in a blend of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks, bottled at 46% ABV.
  • Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength – An annual limited core release. Cask maturation alternates between bourbon, sherry and (occasionally) port from year to year, bottled at natural cask strength, which varies by release (typically in the mid-to-high 50s% ABV).
  • Kilkerran Heavily Peated – A recurring numbered batch series using a heavier phenol specification than the standard Kilkerran spirit, generally bourbon-cask led with a smaller proportion of sherry casks, bottled at cask strength.

Between 2009 and 2015, the distillery released a series of annual “Work in Progress” bottlings while its own stock matured:

The Work in Progress series came to an end in 2016 with the launch of the permanent Kilkerran 12 Year Old, and the range has since grown into a full core lineup alongside ongoing limited Heavily Peated batches. A blend, Mitchell’s Glengyle Blend, is also available.

Finally, a blend is available from Glengyle:

Distillery info:

Detail
Information
NameGlengyle / Kilkerran
RegionCampbeltown
CountryScotland
LogoGlengyle / Kilkerran logo
StatusActive
Founded1872
Water sourceCrosshill loch
Malting floorNo
Owned byMitchells Glengyle Limited
Address

Mitchell’s Glengyle Ltd.
9 Bolgam Street
Campbeltown
PA28 6HZ
Visitor centreYes
Websitehttps://www.kilkerran.scot
Twitterhttps://twitter.com/Kilkerran2004
Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/KilkerranSingleMalt
Map

Distillery Setup:

Component
Capacity
Quantity
Mash tun?1 (Stainless Steel, Lauter)
Washback40,000 litres4
Wash still18,000 litres1
Spirit Still15,000 litres1
Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol)750,000

 

Images courtesy of the Glengyle website