Glengyle Distillery: Why Kilkerran Whisky Doesn't Carry Its Own Distillery's Name

Glengyle distillery doesn't sell whisky under its own name. Ask for a Glengyle at most whisky shops and you'll be met with a blank look, because the brand is called Kilkerran, after the old name for Campbeltown itself. The reason is a trademark, lost during eighty years of silence, that nobody ever managed to buy back.

Glengyle at a glance

History of Glengyle

William Mitchell, son of Archibald Mitchell, opened Glengyle in Campbeltown in 1872, at a time when the Mitchell family was one of the dominant forces in the town's distilling trade. The distillery stood next door to the Riechlachan site. Mitchell sold Glengyle in 1919 to West Highland Malt Distilleries, a short-lived consortium that failed within a few years, and the plant closed in 1925. Bloch Brothers bought the distillery and the Glengyle name in the 1940s with plans to reopen it, but nothing came of them, and the site eventually became a rifle range and feed store.

J&A Mitchell, the family firm that owns Springbank just up the road, bought the Glengyle site in 2000 and began distilling again in 2004, after roughly eighty years of silence. By the time the revival happened, the Glengyle trademark had passed through Bloch Brothers to the owners of a different Campbeltown distillery, Glen Scotia, and was no longer available. The new whisky needed a name, and Mitchell chose Kilkerran, Campbeltown's older name, as the way around the problem. The first release came in 2007, followed by annual "Work in Progress" bottlings as the stock matured.

How Glengyle makes its whisky

The distillery uses a semi-lauter mash tun and ferments in boatskin larch washbacks, with barley malted next door at Springbank. Its two stills were originally built for the long-closed Ben Wyvis distillery and reshaped by Frank McHardy, J&A Mitchell's former production director, who rounded the base shoulders and angled the lyne arms upward. That reshaping gives Kilkerran a lighter, more fragrant style than the heavier Campbeltown character Springbank itself is known for. Various peated styles and a triple-distilled expression have also been tried, and the distillery draws its water from Crosshill Loch.

Glengyle and independent bottlers

Because the distillery only restarted in 2004, properly aged Kilkerran stock has only become available gradually, and the annual "Work in Progress" series was specifically designed to give drinkers something to follow while the whisky matured toward a full-strength core range. Independent bottlings exist but remain less common than official Kilkerran releases, since J&A Mitchell has kept tight control over where the stock goes.

Glengyle and The Single Cask

We don't currently hold a Kilkerran or Glengyle cask. If Campbeltown character is what you're after, get in touch directly and we'll tell you what we hold from that region right now.

Plan a bottling inspired by Glengyle

Glengyle's story, a distillery that lost its own name to a rival down the road and had to build a new identity around an old place name instead, is a reminder that a brand and a distillery are not always the same thing. If that kind of identity question interests you for your own bottling, start with our whisky casks available page, or read about buying a whisky cask and the four steps to bottling your own whisky. For something under your own name, our private label whisky service covers that end to end. For more on Campbeltown, see our guides to Springbank and Glen Scotia.

We hold a wide range of casks to sell to independent bottlers and private customers, drawn from many different distilleries, finished in a variety of wood types from sherry and port casks to bourbon and rum, with real differences in yeast and production style from one distillery to the next. If you are an independent bottler looking for stock, or you have always wanted a cask of your own, talk to us about what we currently hold in the warehouse. Where we don't hold the exact distillery featured in this guide, we say so honestly, and we're usually able to point you toward something close in style from what we do have.

If you have questions about any of this, or about Glengyle in particular, our contact page is the fastest way to reach us.

Frequently asked questions

Why is Glengyle's whisky called Kilkerran?

The Glengyle trademark was sold off during the distillery's eighty years of silence and ended up with the owners of Glen Scotia. When Glengyle reopened in 2004 it had no claim to its own name, so it chose Kilkerran, Campbeltown's older name, instead.

Who owns Glengyle distillery?

J&A Mitchell, the family firm that also owns Springbank.

When did Glengyle close and reopen?

It closed in 1925 and reopened in 2004, after roughly eighty years of silence.

What was the Work in Progress series?

Annual bottlings released after Glengyle's 2004 revival, tracking the whisky's maturation before a full-strength core Kilkerran range was ready.

Are Glengyle and Springbank the same whisky?

No, though they share an owner and malting floor, Glengyle's stills were reshaped to give Kilkerran a lighter, more fragrant style than Springbank's heavier Campbeltown character.

Does The Single Cask sell a Kilkerran cask?

Not at the moment. Contact us for our current Campbeltown stock.