Glengyle Distillery — Campbeltown Single Malt Whisky

Glengyle Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Campbeltown, Argyll, Scotland. It was founded in 1872 and, after decades of closure, is currently owned by the J&A Mitchell group (owners of neighbouring Springbank), with production restarted in 2004. Its single malt is bottled under the name Kilkerran rather than Glengyle, since the "Glengyle" brand name is held by another distiller.

History

Glengyle Distillery was established in 1872 by William Mitchell, a member of the same Mitchell family behind Springbank, reportedly after a dispute with his brothers over the running of that distillery. It operated in Campbeltown — once the "whisky capital of the world," home to over 30 distilleries — through the industry's boom years, but like most of the town's distilleries it fell victim to the collapse of the Campbeltown whisky trade in the early 20th century. Production ceased around 1925, and the site was sold off, later serving purposes including a rifle range; a mid-century attempt to revive it as a working distillery did not last.

The site lay dormant for decades until it was bought back by J&A Mitchell & Co, owners of Springbank, who reformed the company as Mitchells Glengyle Ltd in 2000 and rebuilt the distillery using largely second-hand equipment, including a still sourced from the former Ben Wyvis distillery. Renovation was completed and production resumed in 2004, making it the first new distillery built in Campbeltown in over 125 years and one of the first new Scotch distilleries of the 21st century. Because the "Glengyle" name was already trademarked by another company, the distillery's whisky is released under the name Kilkerran — derived from the Gaelic for "head of the lake of Saint Ciaran," an early name for the Campbeltown area. The first official Kilkerran releases (a "Work in Progress" series) appeared from 2009, with the debut mature core expression, Kilkerran 12 Year Old, launched in 2016.

Quick Facts

• Region: Campbeltown, Scotland
• Founded: 1872 (rebuilt and reopened 2004)
• Owner: J&A Mitchell & Co Ltd (Mitchells Glengyle Ltd)
• Status: Active
• Stills: 1 wash still, 1 spirit still

Core Range

The single malt is bottled as Kilkerran rather than Glengyle. The core range includes Kilkerran 12 Year Old (46% ABV, non-chill filtered, natural colour), Kilkerran 16 Year Old, an 8 Year Old Cask Strength release, and a Heavily Peated batch release; the cask-strength and heavily peated bottlings are released in numbered batches with ABV varying by batch. Production runs for only a few months each year, sharing staff, malt (floor-malted at Springbank), and equipment with its sister distillery.