The Kilchoman Story - How to start a new distillery on Islay

The Kilchoman Story - How to start a new distillery on Islay

July 16, 2026 · 1h 38m

About this episode

James Wills shares the history and experiences of Kilchoman Distillery on Islay.

This is part of our FULL Islay Experience! We headed over to Islay and our first stop was Kilchoman Distillery. After a lovely tour and plenty of drams, we sat down with James Wills who is the Marketing and Sales Man as well as being son of the Founder Anthony Wills. James talked us through the whole history of Kilchoman Distillery, what it was like growing up around the distillery, accidentally setting the kiln on fire, the ethos behind 100% Islay barley, and the connection between Islay and the Land Rover. You don't often get the chance to sit outside a working distillery, drinking drams and recording a podcast episode. Enjoy!

People in this episode

Host: Graeme Kilgour

Guest: James Wills

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Kilchoman Distillery

Places: Islay

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