Leaving the coastal road from St Andrews and driving down the red surfaced track with woodland one side and fields the other, you sweep around the corner and at first site the distillery looks like a small defensive castle protecting Fife from invaders coming ashore from the North Sea which is less than a mile away.
We were welcomed by Douglas Clement, one of the owners/founders and the man who conceived the idea of Kingsbarns back in 2009. The tour was fairly well attended given the inclement weather outside and that Kingsbarns is a bit of a trek unless you happen to already be visiting St Andrews or the Fife coastal road.
The buildings were once part of an old farm but beyond some nice photography there isn't much else to learn about the site. The welcome desk, cafe and shop have all been finished to a high standard and first impressions are of a quality brand but as the tour got underway I personally felt that Kingsbarns was yet to find its groove.
Our tour guide described the decision to open a distillery in Fife as filling a void, 'Golfers with tight schedules just didn't have time to visit Edradour or Aberfeldy' so Douglas (a former golf caddy), came up with the idea of opening a distillery in Fife just down the road from a captive audience. The story is at odds with the website that puts a different slant on the reason for opening but sitting in the distillery listening to our guide the story lacked the passion for whisky that you want to hear about on such tours.
While Douglas Clement had the idea it was Wemyss family that provided the financial backing. Wemyss is already a familiar brand in the drinks industry as whisky blenders and they also have gin and wine in their portfolio. Douglas is certainly the friendly face on the ground and appeared to be getting stuck-in wherever needed to help visitors enjoy the experience.
Back at the tour our guide was explaining that the vessels in the distillery house were stainless steel 'because they didn't feel the need to be traditional' because this was a modern distillery. And that may be right but it again it came across as being a very commercial decision and by this time I felt that I was in a business presentation. To be honest the main distillery area did feel very industrial and business-like, the rules and warnings before entering were such that you felt immediately detached from what was going on and that we were intruding rather than being invited to watched some magic at work.
With the tour of the distillery over we headed upstairs to the tasting room. The wood, soft lighting and leather chairs that gave it the appearance of a gentleman's club with some history, contrasted starkly with the steel, grey walls and harsh lighting of the distillery. Even the two copper stills, the only warm colour in the distillery, were dwarfed by the steel and looked insignificant rather than magnificent.
In the shop Douglas was on-hand to offer advice, take money at the till and chat to visitors. Kingsbarns will undoutedly do very well because of its unique position but if it wants a reputation as a great place to visit beyond the Fife boundary, it needs to find a way of spreading some of Douglas's warmth and enthusiasm into the distillery itself and maybe think again about the story it wants to tell.
Good luck Kingsbarns.
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