The Scottish Wemyss family have had a longstanding passion for malt whisky and their connections with the industry date back to the turn of the 19th century when John Haig (founder of Haig's) built his first distillery on Wemyss land.
The story of Kingsbarns Single Malt Scotch Whisky begins with the conversion of a historic and semi-derelict farmsteading into a distillery.
Built around 1800 as part of East Newhall Farm by Thomas Erskine, the ninth Earl of Kellie, this charming Georgian farm steading once serviced Cambo House and the Estate.
One of the most striking architectural features at Kingsbarns Distillery is the doocot - the Scots word for dovecot - and this was originally a free-standing structure, and with its Adam-style crenellations and Gothic detailing, it looks to all the world like a miniature fortified tower.
But the doocot was not built just for show: its scores of neatly formed terracotta nesting boxes housed a flock of plump pigeons to supply the laird’s kitchen with meat and eggs.
The sandstone masonry and lime harled exterior of the doocot have been carefully restored in the original style. Over 600 terracotta ‘doo boxes’ have been conserved and the pantiled roof replaced, so it’s fit for another 200 years.