The Fife-based Wemyss family has its roots in tea and wine. But in more recent years it has been cultivating a reputation for whisky and gin.
Co-founder and director William Wemyss shares the principles which guide the business and the single biggest thing the Scotch whisky industry needs from government during a deeply challenging time for world trade.
What is your business called?
Wemyss Family Spirits. Our portfolio includes Wemyss Malts, Kingsbarns Distillery and Darnley’s Gin.
Where is it based?
Our main office is in Edinburgh whilst our Kingsbarns and Darnley’s Gin distilleries are located a stone throw from St Andrews in Fife.
What does it produce/do?
Wemyss Family Spirits is an independent, family-owned and run Scottish spirits business producing single malts, blended malts and natural gins.
To whom does it sell?
We sell to whisky and spirits drinkers in the UK and internationally, including through retail, e-commerce, trade and export channels. We also welcome visitors to Kingsbarns and Darnley’s Gin distilleries in Fife where tourism, tastings and the visitor experiences are an important part of the business. The United States is one of our most important export markets and is also significant for whisky tourism around St Andrews.
How many employees?
Circa 25 including part-time team members.
Why did you take the plunge?
The business grew from a family belief that Scotch whisky could be presented in a more flavour-led and accessible way, without compromising on quality, provenance or craft. When my sister Isabella and I founded our independent bottler Wemyss Malts in 2005, we wanted to create whiskies with real personality.
Kingsbarns and Darnley’s Gin came later, but the motivation was very similar: to create something rooted in place. The distilleries sit near St Andrews, surrounded by barley fields and some of the world’s most famous golf courses. It gave us the opportunity to build a distinctive Lowland single malt with a clear connection to Fife, to Scottish agriculture and to golf and whisky tourism.
What were you doing before?
Our family’s experience in blending goes back through tea in Kenya and wine in France, and Isabella brought a particularly precise understanding of flavour and balance through her background as a tea taster. That cross-disciplinary approach helped shape the Wemyss Malts, Kingsbarns Distillery and Darnley’s Gin philosophy from the start.
What do you least enjoy?
The uncertainty as whisky is a long-term business by nature. Every decision we make around casks, stock, people and markets plays out over years, often decades. Sudden shocks, whether through tariffs, duty increases or wider geopolitical disruption, make it harder for independent businesses to plan with confidence.
What are your ambitions for the firm?
Our ambition is to keep building Wemyss Family Spirits as a distinctive, independent Scottish spirits business with quality, flavour and provenance at its heart.
For Wemyss Malts, that means continuing to grow a range of flavour-led whiskies shaped by expert cask selection and blending. For Kingsbarns, it means helping set a new benchmark for Lowland single malt and to become one of Scotland’s most compelling distillery visits, rooted in its place near St Andrews. For Darnley’s Gin, we are increasingly growing our own botanicals right outside the distillery door in our gin garden. This reduces ‘botanical miles’ as we play a very small part in helping decarbonise.
What are the biggest challenges facing the Scotch whisky industry at home and abroad at present?
At home, the industry continues to face rising costs, alcohol duty pressures and difficult trading conditions for hospitality. Abroad, the major challenge is uncertainty in global trade. Tariffs and sudden changes in export conditions can quickly affect pricing, margins and consumer choice.
How concerned are you about the conflict in the Middle East and the ramifications for your business and the wider Scotch whisky industry?
Any major international conflict is concerning because Scotch whisky is a global export industry. Disruption to shipping routes, energy markets, insurance costs or consumer confidence can all feed through into the wider trading environment.
For independent producers, the concern is not only the immediate impact but the cumulative effect of repeated global shocks. Whisky depends on long-term planning and stable routes to market, so geopolitical instability inevitably makes that harder.
How important was the recent decision by US President Donald Trump to scrap import tariffs on Scotch whisky?
We welcomed the President’s decision to remove tariffs on Scotch whisky exports to the United States as it remains one of the most important and valuable export markets for the Scotch whisky industry.
What are the most exciting markets currently emerging for your business and why?
The United States remains one of the most exciting and important markets, particularly now that tariffs have been removed. India has significant potential in the long term as import tariffs are reduced since it has a long history of drinking whisky. It is already the industry largest market by volume and the final significant whisky frontier market.
What single thing could the Scottish and UK Governments do that would most help the industry and your business?
Create stability. That means maintaining fair trading conditions internationally, avoiding further duty pressure at home and recognising that Scotch whisky is a long-term industry that needs confidence to invest. Independent distillers need an environment that supports growth, quality, tourism, exports and jobs, rather than one where sudden tax or trade shocks make planning more difficult.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?
To try and be innovative and creative with our brands. It doesn’t always work – some do and some don’t. But one needs to try!
Where do you find yourself most at ease?
At Kingsbarns, where the business feels most closely connected to place. The distillery sits just outside the village, near St Andrews and surrounded by barley fields, golf courses and the Fife coastline. It captures so much of what we care about as a business: provenance, patience, craftsmanship and a sense of belonging to the landscape around us.
If you weren’t in your current role, what job would you most fancy?
A professional golfer – but I don’t have the ability sadly.
What phrase or quotation has inspired you the most?
‘If you’re going through hell, keep going’ - Winston Churchill.
What is the best book you have ever read? Why is it the best?
Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom. What an amazing individual.
What has been your most challenging moment in life or business?
Continuing to open new export markets and find new, reliable partners. In my experience this is hard and takes time.
What do you now know that you wish you had known when starting out in your career?
Producing quality liquid is key but we underestimated how important strong packaging and the route-to-market is to building long term, sustainable brands.
