Kythe Distillery - a return to old style Highland distilling

Traditional Highland Single Malt

Today news was announced that three well known and highly regarded whisky enthusiasts plan to open a new distillery based in the Highlands of Scotland. Kythe Distillery, stemming from a lifelong romance from old style whisky will be development at Hills of Bendochy farm in Perthshire, with plans to make traditional Highland single malt with a focus on making high quality, traditional single malt made in a historic way.

Distillery Manager Jonny McMillan comments... 

"We're focused on making a spirit which is noble in every respect, not just a grand cru malt whisky. With locally sourced, ethically grown barley and environmentally sustainable production, Kythe has a shot at making something profound, authentic and truly beautiful."

Production

The distillery plans to produce 50,000 litres of pure alcohol per year, filling around 250 casks, working closely with local farmers using protein-rich, heritage and brewing barley varieties. With high detail on production and a constant fermentation time in excess of two weeks from their one tonne mash tun and seven wooden fermenters. Distillation will be fired from a wood fired wash still with backup electricity heated still, condensing through worm tubs which again reflects to the old-style of whisky that Kythe are looking to produce.  

Whisky Maker, Angus MacRaild comments... 

“While I have often been critical of contemporary Scotch whisky's quality and direction, I don't believe in simply being critical. I have always wanted to make whisky, to put my ideas into practice, put my money where my mouth is, and to create a charismatic and very specifically 'old style' single malt. In my view, efficiency is the enemy of character when it comes to Scottish single malts, and with Kythe we can start to test this and be part of a growing movement that is changing the direction of Scottish single malt whisky for the better.”

Kythe – show, prove or demonstrate

The production of Kythe distillery is scheduled to start late 2024, it's fully funded and has been backed by some highly regarded whisky enthusiasts, all with a real passion to see true Highland single malt produced once again.

Chairman, Aaron Chan comments...

“Over the past 10 years, Hong Kong’s whisky fans have been catching up very fast when it comes to Scotch whisky culture. We have started specialised whisky bars, whisky retailers, importers, exporters and independent bottlers. The final piece of the puzzle is for us to help create a whisky distillery in Scotland – Kythe is that distillery.”

To follow the progress of the Kythe Distillery, you can sign up to their newsletter via their website, they also have a Facebook and Instagram page.

We look forward to following the progress of this exciting new distillery.

Slainte 

Mike