FIFE, Scotland — Drew McKenzie-Smith was working as a chef in northwest England when a man knocked on his father’s door with news: A scroll from a long-dead king recorded the earliest known mention of Scottish whisky, and it was traced to the ruins of a monastery next door.
McKenzie-Smith, now 61, did his research, took a risk and built a distillery — entering a global industry subject to the shifting tides of war and diplomacy to honor his family and heritage.
