Kilkerran Single Malt, founded in 2004, is a newer distillery in Campbeltown, a historic whisky-making area on Scotland’s Kintyre Peninsula. It was built where the old Glengyle Distillery once stood before closing in 1925, bringing Campbeltown’s whisky traditions back to life after many quiet years. The distillery is run by J&A Mitchell & Co., a family-owned business that also operates Springbank, one of Campbeltown’s oldest and most respected distilleries (established in 1828).
Fun fact: The name Kilkerran was chosen because the original Glengyle trademark was owned by another company. It refers to the Gaelic "Ceann Loch Cille Chiarain" (Head of the Lake of St. Kieran), an old local landmark.
Located close to the sea, the distillery uses Campbeltown’s coastal weather to influence its whisky’s flavor. Kilkerran makes a lightly smoky spirit, mixing gentle peat (around 15 ppm phenol content) with fruity, floral, and salty hints—a style that sits between Islay’s bold whiskies and the Highlands’ smoother ones. The water comes from Crosshill Loch, a nearby lake, giving the whisky its fresh, crisp taste.
Kilkerran sticks to old-school techniques, like malting its own barley on-site, a slow and careful process that lets them fine-tune the malt’s flavor. Fermentation happens in wooden washbacks (made from Oregon pine), which take longer (up to 110 hours) but add more aroma than modern metal ones. They also use classic copper pot stills heated directly by flames, paired with a patient distilling method, to create a rich and layered spirit.
The whisky ages in a mix of bourbon (ex-Jim Beam) and sherry (ex-Oloroso) casks, kept in traditional dunnage warehouses—small, stone-walled buildings that stay cool and damp. Alongside Campbeltown’s salty sea breeze, this helps the whisky slowly develop flavors like vanilla, dried fruit, spice, and a subtle coastal sharpness.
What makes Kilkerran special is its focus on reviving Campbeltown’s whisky history while keeping things real in a region with only three working distilleries (Springbank, Glen Scotia, and Kilkerran). Kilkerran makes small batches producing around 120,000 liters per year. Their whiskies capture the coastal landscape and the distillery’s effort to keep Campbeltown’s unique whisky style alive.
