InchDairnie whisky: KinGlassie, RyeLaw and the Dane Jens Tholstrup

Blogpost by Ulrik Bertelsen - Updated October 2026

InchDairnie whisky isn't something you stumble across by chance on a shelf. The distillery sits on the edge of Glenrothes in Fife, between paper mills and roundabouts, and has a motto that is hard to misread: flavour, flavour and even more flavour.

Quick overview: InchDairnie whisky: a distillery that forgot what you usually do

Rye whisky from a Lomond still, peated malt without Islay and a mash filter from the brewing world. Then a Dane entered the picture too: Jens Tholstrup, who knows both the distillery and the Danish whisky scene from the inside. Here you get the story of the place, of KinGlassie and RyeLaw, and of why they are worth tasting. If you would rather listen, tune in to our podcast further down.

From a flooded mill to Glenrothes: how InchDairnie whisky began

We are going to Fife, the low, wind-swept peninsula on Scotland's east coast, and more precisely to the edge of Glenrothes. Most people link the town to paper mills and roundabouts, not to whisky. Yet there is a distillery here that seems to have forgotten what you usually do. It is called InchDairnie, and this post is about the place, about two of its whiskies, KinGlassie and RyeLaw, and about a Dane who has been close to it all: Jens Tholstrup.

Location	Glenrothes in Fife, Scotland (Lowland)
Mastermind	Ian Palmer. The company was founded in 2011, first spirit ran in December 2015
Run by	John Fergus & Co (InchDairnie Distillery Ltd), independent distillery
Bottles	RyeLaw (rye) and KinGlassie (peated single malt), see the full InchDairnie range
Danish angle	Jens Tholstrup, Head of Marketing and Taste Revolution

The idea is Ian Palmer's. He has over forty years in the business, was operations manager at Invergordon, ran the distilleries at Whyte & Mackay and was behind Starlaw, the big grain distillery. A man who knows pipes, stills and tanks from the inside, and who still set out to build a distillery unlike the others.

The company was founded in 2011. The plan was first to build by an old mill on the River Leven, but the site risked flooding. So it became land from the old InchDairnie estate instead, which is where the name comes from. Construction began in 2014, and in December 2015 the first spirit ran off the stills.

Palmer didn't want another malt distillery. The motto is flavour, flavour and even more flavour, and you can tell they mean it.

Mash filter, fermentation outdoors and barley from Fife

Most distilleries use a mash tun, a big open vessel with rotating arms. InchDairnie has a mash filter instead, as in breweries. It presses the sugary liquid out of the grain, gives a high yield and can handle grain that would clog an ordinary mash tun. As far as we know, only Teaninich does the same among Scottish malt distilleries.

Fermentation takes place in stainless steel washbacks, and they stand outside, with no active temperature control. That means the seasons of Fife end up in the spirit. A batch from January and one from August won't be quite alike, and that isn't a flaw, it's the point. The water comes from two sources called Flowers of May and Goathill, which is almost too pretty to be true.

The barley comes from farmers in Fife. Spring and winter barley are handled separately and blended into a vintage. Everything is distilled and matured on site. »Fife grown, Fife distilled and Fife matured«, as managing director Scott Sneddon has put it.

Mashing	Mash filter instead of mash tun
Fermentation	Stainless steel washbacks outdoors, no active temperature control
Distillation	Copper pot stills and a Lomond Hill still for the rye
Barley	From farmers in Fife. Spring and winter barley are blended into a vintage

RyeLaw: rye whisky from Scotland, distilled in a Lomond still

Lomond stills were a Scottish invention from the mid-20th century, with plates in the neck that gave a heavier, oilier spirit. Most of them disappeared over time. Palmer has built a new one for the rye, and according to the distillery RyeLaw is the only whisky in the world made from malted rye and distilled in such a still. Sneddon calls it a sipping rye, and that fits well.

The first bottle to come out was not a single malt, which few would have guessed. RyeLaw is made from 53 percent malted rye and 47 percent malted barley, and it is matured in new, heavily toasted casks of American oak. Because Scottish law only recognises malt and grain, the label says single grain, even though rye makes up most of it. It is bottled at 46.3 percent, with no colouring and no chill-filtration.

In the glass it is golden. The nose is rye spice with a little oak and a soft layer of vanilla. On the palate the pepper from the rye, an oily, full mouthfeel and then something sweet, like biscuits, grain and dried fruit. It is neither bourbon nor Canadian rye. It is something third, which is exactly why it is interesting.

Each edition gets its own wood origin: RyeLaw Vintage 2017 is called Ozark Wood, and RyeLaw Vintage 2018 is called Appalachian Wood.

KinGlassie: peated whisky outside Islay

KinGlassie came out in May 2025 and is the distillery's first single malt. There are two editions, both eight years old and heavily peated, with mainland Scottish peat, not Islay. Peated malt is only distilled for a couple of weeks each December, so production is small and limited.

KinGlassie Double Matured has spent five years in bourbon casks and then three years in amontillado casks, and it tastes of smoke and tobacco with layers of almonds and nuts, smoky and almost velvety. KinGlassie Raw is eight years in American oak that has held bourbon, and here the smoke is more like a fireplace that is still glowing, rich, sweet and malty, untamed but kept in place. One is dressed up, the other bare-chested, and they belong together, as the name says.

The name Finglassie is the peated malt bottled by independent bottlers, which we gather under independent special whisky. One example is Inchdairnie 2018/2026 Finglassie Lady of the Glen 7 year.

Jens Tholstrup: the Dane who has been close to it all

If you have followed Danish whisky for the last thirty years, you have probably come across his name, knowingly or not. In October 1995 Jens Tholstrup co-founded Dansk Maltwhisky Akademi together with Flemming Gerhardt-Pedersen. The academy held tastings around the country, published the magazine Malten and later made its own bottlings. The year after came his book En whiskyverden, with a foreword by Søren Ryge Petersen. For many Danes it was the one that opened the door. He has later written the book: 50 whiskyer du skal smage før du dør.

But Jens has another past too. He travelled around Scotland, became a guide at distilleries and ended up as head of the guides at Glenfiddich. Later he became a brand ambassador and trained local distributors worldwide to tell the story themselves. It took him to Australia, Asia, South America and the USA. You don't get that schooling from a book. He also worked together with the undersigned at Valora Trade many years ago.

Since 2014 he has been in charge of product development at InchDairnie, and today his title is Head of Marketing and Taste Revolution. You can smile at the title, but it fits: he translates between those who make the whisky, those who import it and those who end up with the glass.

Listen to the podcast: How InchDairnie Distillery Reengineered Scotch Whisky

We have also made an episode about InchDairnie in the Whisky.dk Podcast. It is in English and runs for about 20 minutes. We go to Glenrothes, taste KinGlassie and RyeLaw and talk about Jens Tholstrup.

The four bottles side by side

The four InchDairnie bottles we have. All bottled at 46.3 percent, 70 cl.

Bottle	Cask	Taste	Price
RyeLaw Vintage 2017 (Ozark Wood)	New, heavily toasted casks of American oak	Rye spice, pepper, vanilla, light oak	Click here
RyeLaw Vintage 2018 (Appalachian Wood)	New, charred casks of American oak	Pepper, oak and toffee	Click here
KinGlassie Raw 8 year	American oak, ex-bourbon, no finish	Glowing fireplace, rich sweet malt	Click here
KinGlassie Double Matured 8 year	5 years ex-bourbon, 3 years amontillado	Smoke, tobacco, almonds and nuts	Click here

How to taste InchDairnie whisky

Start with RyeLaw, so the rye gets to stand alone before the smoke arrives. Move on to KinGlassie Double Matured and finish with Raw, which is the rawest of them. Not as a rule, but because the smoke otherwise drowns the rye, and then you have a rye that feels overlooked. Pour them neat in a Glencairn glass and give them a few minutes. If they are too hot, try a single drop of water. One. This is whisky with many layers, not something you knock back on a Tuesday.

My verdict: the sweet spot between rye and smoke

InchDairnie whisky is not for you if you only want the familiar. It is for those who like asking why things are done the way they are. If you like smoke but have had enough of everything being about Islay, KinGlassie Double Matured is a good first pick. It has the smoke, but also something soft and nutty from the sherry cask. If you want something that doesn't remind you of anything else on the shelf, RyeLaw is the answer. Raw is for those who want the distillate with as little decoration as possible.

All four cost the same, so the choice is not about price, but about appetite. They are worth looking for because they come from a distillery that dares to ask whether it has to be done this way, and still holds on to the craft. Cheers to that.

Frequently asked questions about InchDairnie whisky

What is InchDairnie whisky?

InchDairnie is a distillery in Fife in Scotland. It makes the rye whisky RyeLaw and the heavily peated single malt KinGlassie, and it goes its own way with a mash filter and fermentation outdoors.

Where is InchDairnie?

On the edge of Glenrothes in Fife, on Scotland's east coast, by the Lomond Hills.

What is the difference between KinGlassie and RyeLaw?

KinGlassie is a heavily peated eight-year-old single malt. RyeLaw is made from 53 percent malted rye and 47 percent malted barley and distilled in a Lomond Hill still.

Is RyeLaw a rye whisky or a single grain?

Both. Scottish law only knows malt and grain, so the label says Single Grain Scotch Whisky, though rye is the main grain.

What is a Lomond still?

A pot still with plates in the neck. They give a heavier and oilier spirit. InchDairnie has built a new version for RyeLaw.

Is KinGlassie peated like Islay whisky?

It is peated to 50+ ppm, but the peat comes from the Scottish mainland and not from Islay. The smoke tastes different: tobacco and nuts in Double Matured, glowing fireplace in Raw.

What is the difference between KinGlassie Raw and Double Matured?

Raw has spent eight years in American oak that has held bourbon. Double Matured has spent five years in bourbon casks and three years in amontillado casks.

How much does InchDairnie whisky cost?

See the range of InchDairnie products here.

Who is Jens Tholstrup?

Danish whisky author, co-founder of Dansk Maltwhisky Akademi in 1995 and former head guide at Glenfiddich. Since 2014 he has been in charge of product development at InchDairnie.

Is there a podcast episode about InchDairnie?

Yes. Whisky.dk Podcast has an English episode of about 20 minutes about InchDairnie, KinGlassie, RyeLaw and Jens Tholstrup. Listen further up the page.