【Exclusive Interview】Kate Bradley, Distillery Operator at Kingsbarns Distillery

How can you become a distiller if you have no experience in the whisky industry? You could take several paths, such as starting as a tour guide, undertaking an apprenticeship, or even opening your own distillery. However, any of these options would take a long time and be extremely challenging to learn everything on the job.

If you prefer to learn and build a solid knowledge base beforehand, following the example of Kate Bradley, Distillery Operator at Kingsbarns Distillery, would be the way to go.

Fresh out of Heriot-Watt University with a degree in Brewing and Distilling, Kate embarked on her journey at Kingsbarns Distillery, where she now plays a vital role in the whisky production process. This interview with Kate will unveil the art of whisky production at Kingsbarns and the inspiring path that led her to work as a full-time operator.

About Kate Bradley

Getting into whisky

Dear WHISKY：
How did you get interested in whisky?

Kate：
I’m from the West Highlands, a small rural area in Scotland. My dad is a stone mason, and he was restoring the old farmstead, which became Nc’nean Distillery. He needed some help at work then, so I went along and helped him work.

At that stage, they were getting the stills in with all the pipe works, and that was when I got interested in whisky production.

Dear WHISKY：
How did you enter the whisky industry?

Kate：
I completed the Bachelor of Science in Brewing and Distilling at Heriot-Watt University. I did my four years of undergrad there and learned all sorts of areas of the industry. At Heriot-Watt, you do a lot of science and engineering, which is quite heavy on the biology behind the raw materials and the final products. Also, there is a lot about the spirit business. After four years, I decided that whisky was my kind of area, especially the production side. 

Dear WHISKY：
How does a degree at Heriot-Watt work?

Kate：
They teach you the overall aspects of brewing and distilling. The degree is quite heavy on the brewing side, so I learned quite a lot about beer production. However, in terms of the production process, beer and whisky are very similar until you reach the distillation stage. Therefore, courses go in-depth on both sides and explore other spirits.

You get a wide range of education within the industry, and people then choose themselves to specify in their area.

Joining Kingsbarns

Dear WHISKY：
How did you join whisky industry?

Kate：
I did a little bit of tour guide and sales work at Ardnamurchan Distillery while I was off from uni during the summers. I’ve got experience in both areas, but I was keen to get my hands on distilling. So, about two months after I graduated, I started in production here at Kingsbarns. I’ve been here for about 18 months now. 

Dear WHISKY：
What borught you to Kingsbarns?

Kate：
I was looking specifically for a production post. Since I had worked at Ardnamuchan Distillery, I did like the idea of a small family-owned distillery. They’re owned by Adelphi, a bottling company similar to ours. We are owned by Wemyss Malts. I saw the opening online and decided to go for it, and thankfully, they gave me the chance to start distilling here. We’re a tiny team; the visitor centre has 15 to 20 staff, but only four of us are in production. 

Dear WHISKY：
What about Kingsbarns stood out to you the most?

Kate：
The real passion is around getting the highest quality spirit. When you’re a young distillery, you are trying to churn out products as much as possible and try to get themselves out there quickly.

But with Kingsbarns, the focus is on getting a high-quality spirit.

A lot of time and money goes into ensuring that we’ve got the best quality of spirit, such as sourcing all the malts from places within a six-mile radius.

Working and learning at Kingsbarns 

Dear WHISKY：
How much experience do you have in distillation?

Kate：
Since I joined Kingsbarns, it has been 18 months. When I joined, one of the distillers was about to leave, so I replaced his spot. Hence, I have been in training straight away since I joined. I obviously knew the process, but actually operating everything while learning was a totally different experience. Also, every distillery is different, and people do things their own way.

Dear WHISKY：
What is the most prominent feature of Kingsbarns?

Kate：
There’s a different level of automation across different distilleries, and with us, we’re pretty hands-on when it comes to our matching regime. We have a panel that lets us set the recipe and open valves. The program will automatically open and close valves, but the setup must be correctly ordered with the hoses downstairs. So, it’s still very manual and hands-on, which I enjoy.

It gives you an excellent understanding of the process and allows you to do it yourself, but that little bit of automation keeps us modern and moving forward. 

Operating a distillery on her own

Dear WHISKY：
How long did it take for you to be able to run everything by yourself?

Kate：
I was probably running it independently within two to three months, but that’s from doing it every single day with Peter Holroyd, our Distillery Manager and shadowing his work. I learn the best by doing it myself while having somebody talk me through it, but it’s different for everybody. 

Dear WHISKY：
What are the tips for learning fast?

Kate：
Peter’s a great boss. He was very patient regarding training and gave me a lot of time to learn the ropes.

Most of the time, I just looked at a tank, found the pipes coming out of it, and followed the line to see where it went.

That was the best way to gain an in-depth understanding of this particular plant and how it operates. Within a few months, I was ready to go. Then from that point, I’ve been able to run it independently. 

Dear WHISKY：
Are there any specific traits that a person needs to become an operator?

Kate：
Not quite, but you have to be able to multitask; you’re spinning a lot of plates at the same time. And be passionate about the product you’re making. Having a passion for quality and improvement is really important. But generally, you’re just trying to keep everything going simultaneously and not break anything. 

Responsibility as a distiller

Dear WHISKY：
Don’t you feel pressured to be responsible for distilling by yourself at such a young age?

Kate：
In the distillery as a whole, I find many people here taking pride in their work, and they’re proud of what they do. And so there is much responsibility for making whisky, as do the people in the visitor centre. I think part of that is just taking pride in what we do. 

Dear WHISKY：
How do you feel about that responsibility?

Kate：
It is a lot to keep an eye on, but I enjoy the workload and responsibility that comes with it. Working in a distillery is rewarding because you’ve got an apparent end product, which is also enjoyable. So you know exactly where your hard work is going. Every day, when you’ve got your new make and smell it, you know you are doing things right.

Knowing that all work contributes towards something that might stay for 15 or 20 years is a good driver.

Learning from work

Dear WHISKY：
How different is working at an actual distillery from the education you get at the Brewing and Distilling program?

Kate：
It was completely different, mainly because the formative years of my degree were during COVID-19, and I only got a little hands-on experience. Instead, I gained excellent insight into distilleries’ theory and business side. So, this is an entirely different ballgame altogether regarding active practical learning. 

Dear WHISKY：
What do you think of your route to the whisky industry?

Kate：
Doing the degree gives you a perfect knowledge base to build in the industry. But there’s a million different ways to get into it. Some people start as tour guides or do apprenticeships, and there’s no right or wrong way to do it. Doing the degree first gave me excellent background knowledge, which definitely helped me along the way. 

Dear WHISKY：
How do tour guides build knowledge in whisky production?

Kate：
We have a day when the people on the tour and the sales team spend time in production with us.

It gives them an excellent insight into how everything works and helps them with the tours and promoting spirit and distillery.

We also chip into the visitor centre, so I go to whisky festivals or help out with tours. It is based on teamwork, with everyone clearly understanding and respecting each other’s roles and how they can support one another.

Role at Kingsbarns Distillery

Dear WHISKY：
How many days a week do you work?

Kate：
Five days a week. We’re running seven shifts a week right now, so we’ll run double shifts two days, Mondays and Thursdays. One start at 5:30 AM till about 1:30 PM, and another person will come in at about 1:00 PM and leave around 9:00 PM. So it’s quite a good setup because you either start early, but you’ve got the whole afternoon or vice versa.

Dear WHISKY：
What are double shifts for?

Kate：
To maximize production size. Eight years ago, when we started, we only operated five shifts a week. As production increased, we added two more shifts, bringing the total to seven. This year, we plan to further scale up production. While we could do it now, we don’t, since it would reduce our fermentation times. Running double shifts daily would mean more frequent use of the same washbacks, resulting in a reduced fermentation time from three to five days to just two days.

Dear WHISKY：
How do you plan to expand the production size then?

Kate：
If you look at the back of the distillery, there’s quite a lot of empty space now.

We plan to put extra washback there to increase production without compromising that fermentation time.

It will be a double-sized washback so that we can fill it twice during two shifts. So it should be interesting. 

Modernisation of the Whisky Industry

Kate, as a young female operator

Dear WHISKY：
Is it hard to find a job in the Scotch whisky industry as a youth with minimal experience?

Kate：
Generally, Scotch whisky has been quite traditional, and it still is. But over the last few years, there has been a real push to modernise it. Bringing younger people to the industry offers a new perspective and ideas regarding product or marketing.

Dear WHISKY：
How do you feel about this modernisation?

Kate：
From my perspective, having new people now means having experienced people in 15 to 20 years. So I think it’s always important to bring new people into the industry and also, as well, bring women into the industry.

It’s something that’s not happened for a while for various reasons, but we’re starting to take steps in the right direction regarding women in production, sales, and all sorts.

Environmental sustainability

Dear WHISKY：
Speaking of modernisation, what does Kingsbarns do to promote better environmental sustainability?

Kate：
We do various things, and we are always trying to develop as well. The first thing is source malts close by. There’s been genuine efforts to cut down on the mileage that goes into sourcing our raw materials. On top of that, we’re trying different things in terms of harnessing heat efficiently. We’re in the process of refining a pot ale receiver tank right now.  

Dear WHISKY：
How does that work?

Kate：
The pot ale receiver is a system where we store our waste to let it cool down overnight. Next day, we can transfer it to nearby farms the next day and use it as fertiliser. We plan to connect that receiver tank with the heat exchanger to reuse the residual heat to warm up washbacks and pot stills.

Kingsbarns Whisky

The house style of the Kingsbarns

Dear WHISKY：
What kind of whisky do you guys make here?

Kate：
We aim for typical Lowland-style whisky.

We try to stay with that fundamental style of unpeated, very light, fruity, elegant, and generally just easy-to-drink whisky where you can taste the work that’s gone into it in a way.

And we try to achieve that through various things, such as our raw materials or process parameters.

Dear WHISKY：
What kind of specific processes do you implement to achieve that style?

Kate：
We take the high cut point of spirit at 69% ABV, whereas other distilleries would go down into the low sixties or high fifties. This ensures we only get the lightest and most delicate notes from our spirit. Also, the shape of the stills is unique as well. 

Pot still silhouette influencing the flavour

Dear WHISKY：
Could you elaborate on the still shape?

Kate：
What’s complicated for us is that we are in a protected building, which means that you can’t go higher than the roof of the original building. So when the stills were being designed, they couldn’t do classic Lowlands’ high narrow still. Therefore, our stills have swan necks going up reasonably narrow, but the lyne arm is almost at a straight angle rather than coming down the way or going up the way.  

Dear WHISKY：
What does that arm shape do?

Kate：
It adds that extra bit of reflux to get a light and fruity spirit, even without penetrating through the ceiling of the original building. So little things like that we try and do all come together to give us that typical Lowland style. With the product coming out, it seems it has achieved that quite well. You get a few tropical fruit notes, but generally just light and easy-drinking whisky. 

Kingsbarns taste

Dear WHISKY：
Kingsbarns has a wide range of products. Who decides the new products/ranges of whiskies?

Kate：
A lot of it is Isabella Wemyss, the company’s owner, but we have a variety of people at the head office in Edinburgh who work quite closely with production as well. Peter Holroyd, our Distillery Manager, works closely with them and plans for new releases and ranges.

So, it’s a collaborative effort, but Isabella is at the helm of that. 

Dear WHISKY：
Would those decisions affect the spirit production?

Kate：
Our spirit production is consistent, and we’re happy with our recipe. As a young distillery, we focus on making a consistent product for as long as possible. I am sure we will experiment more in the future, but right now, we’re happy with what we’re doing. It’s all about getting a lovely quintessential Lowland spirit with that unique Kingsbarns, Fife touch. 

Kate’s favourite whisky

First ever whisky

Dear WHISKY：
What was the very first whisky you had?

Kate：
The first whisky that I tried and resonated with was Glenmorangie. It is the whisky my mom drinks, and she drinks it because it’s what her dad drank.

So it is a generational thing, and there’s something lovely about it.

Also, Glenmorangie seems to have that relationship with many people.

Dear WHISKY：
Why do you think that happened?

Kate：
I think it was one of the earliest accessible single malts. The past generations would’ve drunk blends mostly as single malts were expensive and for a completely different demographic than what they are now. They are a lot more accessible now, and I think Glenmorangie was one of the first to be a little bit more affordable and accessible to people. That’s how my grandpa started drinking it, which was passed on to my mom and then passed on to me.

Favourite whisky to drink currently

Dear WHISKY：
What is your favourite whisky to drink now?

Kate：
Oh, it changes by the week. Honestly, I have been reaching out to Kingsbarns the most these days; I love our Doocot. Anything unpeated with mostly bourbon finish is for me. My partner and I both work in the whisky industry, which means we try to get samples from different places and try things together. So, it pretty much changes by the week.

Favorite part of working at Kingsbanrs

Dear WHISKY：
What is your favourite part of your work at Kingsbarns?

Kate：
I really enjoy the day-to-day process, from start to finish. Getting to that end process where you’ve got the newmake spirit in front of you to test and check everything is a really rewarding part of the day. I also quite enjoy unloading and offloading the casks. It’s full-on work, but if a team of you is doing it, you can make it quite fun.

But generally, I enjoy everything, and there’s not one part that jumps out.

Message for Dear WHISKY Readers

At Last

So far, with her time at Kingsbarns Distillery, Kate has developed extensive experience and expertise, making her an integral part of the Kingsbarns heritage and flavour. Kate was drawn to Kingsbarns’ unwavering dedication to quality, and the distillery’s whisky is now gaining recognition for its easily drinkable light fruit flavours, which are a source of pride as part of the Lowland-style.

With its independent family-owned style business, Kingsbarns is creating hands-on, quality whisky, all while contributing to environmental sustainability and the local economy.