🥃 Glengyle

Glengyle is a single malt Scotch whisky distillery in Campbeltown, Argyll. William Mitchell founded it in 1872, production stopped in 1925, and the first spirit of the revived distillery was distilled in 2004. The whisky is sold under the Kilkerran brand. The owner is Mitchell's Glengyle Ltd.

History. According to the brand's website, William Mitchell had run Springbank with his brother John; after a dispute he left and founded Glengyle in 1872. In 1919 the distillery was sold to West Highland Malt Distilleries Ltd, and production ceased in 1925. During the long closure the buildings were used by local clubs and companies. In 2000 Mitchell's Glengyle Ltd, headed by Hedley G Wright, bought the distillery, and after a four-year rebuild the first spirit was distilled in 2004. The name Glengyle was already trademarked for a blended Highland malt, so the whisky is called Kilkerran, after the town's original place name Ceann Loch Chille Chiarain.

Range. The Kilkerran range on the brand's website includes 12 and 16 years old, an 8-year-old at cask strength and Heavily Peated.

Why this matters to you. On the bottle you will see Kilkerran, not Glengyle: it is the same whisky. Campbeltown is a protected locality in the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009, and the brand's website says it has three distilleries. The WHO reminds us that there is no safe amount of alcohol.