Friend of Kilchoman, Dr Jim Swan Dies
February 2, 2017Anthony Wills, Kilchoman Founder;
“Everyone at Kilchoman is immensely sad to hear of Jim’s death.
One of the best bits of advice I had when setting up the distillery was to get Jim involved. I knew the style of whisky I wanted to produce and thought I knew the problems I was going to face but I’m not sure I would have succeeded without Jim’s wealth of knowledge. He designed our stills, was always available to assure me that I was doing a good job and giving me the confidence I needed in those early days. He was here during the first spirit runs and on trying the spirit, he smiled and said ‘if you look after this you could bottle it after 3 years’ and we haven’t looked back since.
Jim’s continued support has played a massive part in Kilchoman’s success and I will always be very grateful for his contribution. Quiet, unassuming and irreplaceable, he became a dear friend to the Kilchoman family.”
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DISTILLERY NEWS
Kilchoman Timeline
2001 After a 20-year career in the drinks industry, initially in wine and latterly as an independent bottler of whisky, Anthony Wills has the idea of building a new Islay distillery. Kilchoman Distillery Company Ltd is incorporated as a private limited company on November 12th, 2001. 2003 The idea of…
February 6, 2026
