‘The culmination of a dream’ – New whisky distillery unveiled in Fife

Those behind an ambitious whisky venture in Fife which has created 10 jobs have toasted the official opening of their new distillery.

InchDairnie Distillery, on the outskirts of Kinglassie, has been built over the last 18 months and aims to produce two million litres of malt whisky in its first year.

It has been founded by whisky industry veteran Ian Palmer, who has almost 40 years’ experience, and he admitted that the unveiling of his striking new distillery is a vision come true.

“InchDairnie is the culmination of a dream and everything I’ve learnt about whisky making over the last four decades,” he said.

“I’m hugely respectful of whisky-making traditions, but at InchDairnie our vision is to use technical expertise to capture and nurture all of the flavours from the whisky-making process.

“That’s why, alongside traditional ingredients such as water, malted barley and yeast, technology and innovation will be important ingredients in our whisky.

“The contemporary look of the distillery is designed to reflect our approach.

“A great deal of our time and investment has been focused on ensuring that every piece of equipment and every step of the whisky-making process has been thoroughly researched and fine-tuned to create the best possible spirit.”

The building itself has modern architecture and is deep grey in colour, something Mr Palmer hopes will highlight just how forward-thinking the distillery’s approach is – while still remaining respectful of tradition.

InchDairnie will use local Fife barley and water in creating what has been described as a full-bodied and complex whisky with a slightly sweet edge, in contrast to the traditional ‘Lowland’ style.

The distillery uses numerous energy-efficient production methods and allows InchDairnie to reduce waste and save energy.

Over the coming years, InchDairnie Distillery will focus on laying down stock for the future and the creation of its first InchDairnie Single Malt Scotch whisky, which is expected to be available to consumers around 2029.

In addition, the distillery will make a malt for blending to sell to other distillers such as its strategic partner MacDuff International.

“We are fortunate not to be under any commercial pressure to release our whisky so we will wait until the whisky is at its absolute best, which could be in 10, 12 or 15 years’ time, only time will tell,” added Mr Palmer.

The distillery will be focusing on making whisky over the next few years, so there are no plans for a visitor centre.