Glengyle / Kilkerran distillery information
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.
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.
Glengyle whiskies
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:
- Work in Progress 1; released 2009, matured in oak. Limited to 9,000 bottles worldwide.
- Work in Progress 2; released 2010, limited to 18,000 bottles.
- Work in Progress 3; released 2011, 9,000 bottles.
- Work in Progress 4; released 2012, 9,000 bottles.
- Work in Progress 5 – Sherry and Bourbon matured; released 2013, 9,000 bottles each.
- Work in Progress 6 – Sherry and Bourbon matured; released 2014, 9,000 bottles each.
- Work in Progress 7 – Sherry matured; released 2015, final release in the series.
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:
- Mitchell’s Glengyle Blend
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Glengyle / Kilkerran |
| Region | Campbeltown |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 1872 |
| Water source | Crosshill loch |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Mitchells Glengyle Limited |
| Address |
Mitchell’s Glengyle Ltd. |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.kilkerran.scot |
| https://twitter.com/Kilkerran2004 | |
| https://www.facebook.com/KilkerranSingleMalt | |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | ? | 1 (Stainless Steel, Lauter) |
| Washback | 40,000 litres | 4 |
| Wash still | 18,000 litres | 1 |
| Spirit Still | 15,000 litres | 1 |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 750,000 |
Images courtesy of the Glengyle Distillery.
Frequently Asked Questions
Whisky produced at Glengyle is bottled as Kilkerran rather than under the distillery’s own name, because there is already a separate blended whisky sold as Glengyle. Kilkerran is instead the name of the original settlement that Campbeltown was built upon.
Glengyle was founded by William Mitchell in Campbeltown in 1872. William and his brother John had run the Springbank distillery together just down the road, but William left following an argument over sheep. Glengyle was completed in 1873, and William ran it as sole proprietor for almost five decades.
In 1919, Glengyle was sold to West Highland Malt Distilleries Ltd, which also purchased Glen Scotia around the same time. As the whisky business struggled, Glengyle was sold again in 1924 and finally closed in 1925, with its remaining stock auctioned off. It stayed closed for roughly the rest of the century, despite several unsuccessful attempts to revive it.
The Mitchell family, who still own Springbank today, wanted to restart distilling on the site of the original Glengyle distillery, on the corner of Glebe Street and Glengyle Road just down the road from Springbank. Reconstruction of the buildings was finished in 2003, and once equipment (much of it bought second hand from the Ben Wyvis distillery) was fitted, Glengyle reopened in March 2004.
Between 2009 and 2015, while its own stock matured, Glengyle released a series of annual Work in Progress bottlings, starting at 9,000 bottles worldwide for the first release and expanding to include separate sherry- and bourbon-matured versions by 2013 and 2014. The series ended in 2015, giving way in 2016 to the permanent Kilkerran 12 Year Old and the start of a full core lineup.
The core range includes the Kilkerran 12 Year Old, the entry point to the range, lightly peated and matured 70 percent in ex-bourbon and 30 percent in ex-sherry casks, bottled at 46% ABV, non-chill-filtered; the Kilkerran 16 Year Old, added in 2020 and released annually since, matured in a blend of ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks; the Kilkerran 8 Year Old Cask Strength, an annual limited release alternating between bourbon, sherry and occasionally port casks; and Kilkerran Heavily Peated, a recurring numbered batch series with a heavier phenol specification, generally bourbon-cask led with a smaller proportion of sherry casks. A blend, Mitchell’s Glengyle Blend, is also available.
Yes, tours of Glengyle and warehouse tastings are bookable year-round through the Kilkerran website, including outside the distillery’s short autumn production window.
Yes, Glengyle has a visitor centre.