Kythe

Type: Distillery

On 2 July 2026, the first spirit flowed at Kythe, a Highland distillery near Blairgowrie where a wood fire heats the wash still. Floor-malted barley, a wooden mashing paddle and hands-on production underpin the founders’ ambition: to recover a Highland malt style they say has not been made since the 1960s.[1][4][5]

Fact box

What Kythe is known for

“We believe efficiency is the enemy of character.” MacRaild’s words find their practical expression in a wooden mashing paddle, a wood-fired wash still and worm tub condensers serving both stills.[1][2][3][5][6]

The same thinking extends to the warehouse. The founders favour refill casks and reject virgin oak and what they call novelty wine casks. Production choices, from barley and fermentation to heating and maturation, are intended to serve the character of the spirit.[1][2][3][5]

Kythe is built around these particular methods, rather than a blanket claim that older equipment makes better whisky. Their success in recovering the Highland character the founders seek will be judged in the mature whisky.[1][2][5]

The people and the farm

Kythe’s founders bring experience across whisky making, buying, writing and independent bottling. MacRaild is the whisky maker, McMillan the distillery manager and Chan the chairman. According to the producer, MacRaild is a writer and consultant, a director of Decadent Drinks, and worked summers at Ardbeg and Bruichladdich. McMillan previously bought bulk spirits for Berry Bros. & Rudd, where he also managed Daftmill’s brand.[1][2][5]

Chan founded Club Qing, a Hong Kong independent bottler, and co-founded the WhiskyNow! festival, according to Kythe’s account. The producer names Colas Malaise as Head of Production.[1]

That whisky background is matched by an agricultural contribution. Farmer Donald Colville grows between a third and a half of Kythe’s malt requirements. The distillery occupies two converted barns, with mash house, stills and warehousing sharing the farm setting, close to where part of its barley grows.[2][3][5][6]

Funding came from around 30 whisky enthusiasts, without venture capital, Whisky Magazine reports. Other reports describe shareholders from more than ten countries.[3][5]

Founding story

Story verdicts

Documented: production philosophy. The Herald and The Whiskey Wash record MacRaild’s statement that efficiency is the enemy of character.[2][6]

Documented: historical ambition. The founders seek a Highland malt style they say has not been made since the 1960s. The documented achievement is the start of production; recreating that style remains their ambition.[1][5]

Documented: still design and commissioning. Whisky Magazine reports that the squat wash still was designed with Bowmore in mind. Gordon Grant, formerly of Ardmore, helped commission it. Direct firing continued at Ardmore until 2001.[5]

Disputed: first bottling. McMillan hoped in 2025 for a five-year-old, while reports in 2026 expected a first release in around eight years. Neither establishes a confirmed release date.[2][3][5]

From barley to fermentation

Maris Otter is Kythe’s barley, and all of it is floor malted. Much is grown on the farm, although the farm supplies only part of the distillery’s total malt requirements.[2][5][6]

In the mash house, a wooden paddle works the one-tonne, manually operated mash tun. Fermentation follows in eight wooden washbacks.[3][5]

Here, spent brewer’s yeast from Belhaven Brewery is paired with the original 1950s pressed M strain of distiller’s yeast. The producer gives the fermentation range as three to seven days, with enough capacity to stretch to two weeks. The published approach allows that range rather than prescribing one duration for every batch.[1][2][3]

Wood fire and worm tubs

Kythe’s distilling setup brings together a squat, directly fired wash still and wooden worm tubs serving both stills. Forsyths fabricated the stills; Whisky Magazine reports that Bowmore informed the wash still’s design.[1][5][6]

The wash still holds 6,000 litres, the spirit still 4,000 litres. Reports put the wood fire at more than 800°C: that is the temperature of the fire, not the liquid inside the still.[2][3][6]

Gordon Grant, formerly of Ardmore, helped commission the wood-fired still. Direct firing continued at Ardmore until 2001, Whisky Magazine records, giving Kythe’s chosen method a relatively recent precedent in Scotch production.[5]

The squat wash still, direct wood heating and worm tub condensers are deliberate elements of the founders’ production design. How that combination expresses itself in a bottled whisky remains to be assessed.[1][5]

The Herald gives Kythe’s annual production target as 60,000 litres of pure alcohol. Actual annual output has not been verified.[2]

Casks and the first whisky

Refill wood leads Kythe’s stated maturation plan, which uses ex-bourbon and ex-sherry casks. These are the producer’s choices for maturing the spirit, not a tasting description of the whisky to come.[1][3]

The exclusions are explicit. Kythe says it will not fill novelty wine casks; Whisky Magazine describes the policy as no wine casks and no virgin oak. Ex-sherry casks remain part of the separately stated maturation plan.[1][3][5]

The published expectations for a first bottling differ. In 2025, McMillan hoped for a five-year-old. Reports in 2026 instead anticipated a first release in around eight years and placed the laying down of the first casks in autumn that year. The five-year figure describes the hoped-for whisky’s age; the eight-year figure describes an expected wait for release. Neither is a confirmed release date, and no whisky is currently available to taste.[2][3][5]

Production timeline

Visiting Kythe

Kythe is a production site, not a public tour destination. It has no visitor facilities, gift shop or tearoom, according to the published position checked in November 2026.[1][3][4]

The official website carries the producer’s updates. First spirit, first casks and first bottled whisky mark separate stages: the first has a firm date, while the last remains open.[1][2][3]

Sources

1. Kythe Distillery. Kythe Distillery: a return to old style highland Scotch whisky distilling. Producer’s account, checked November 2026. https://kythedistillery.com/
2. The Herald. Kythe Distillery begins traditional whisky production in Blairgowrie. Checked November 2026. https://www.heraldscotland.com/news/26594571.kythe-distillery-begins-traditional-whisky-production-blairgowrie/
3. The Spirits Business. Kythe Distillery begins 'old-style' whisky production. Checked November 2026. https://www.thespiritsbusiness.com/2026/09/kythe-distillery-begins-old-style-whisky-production/
4. Master of Malt. Kythe Distillery Has Begun Distilling. Checked November 2026. https://www.masterofmalt.com/blog/post/kythe-distillery-has-begun-distilling/
5. Whisky Magazine. Kythe Distillery's founders plan to make whisky the old-fashioned way. Checked November 2026. https://whiskymag.com/articles/kythe-distillerys-founders-plan-to-make-whisky-the-old-fashioned-way/
6. The Whiskey Wash. Kythe Distillery Fires Up Stills At New Highland Distillery. Checked November 2026. https://thewhiskeywash.com/whiskey-news/kythe-distillery-fires-up-stills-at-new-highland-distillery/
7. legislation.gov.uk. The Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009, regulation 10. Checked November 2026. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2009/2890/regulation/10

This article is desk research based on verified fact sheet TOP-A689, distinguishing the producer’s account from trade reporting and the cited legal text.

Last checked: November 2026