Whisky is coming back to Edinburgh

The now trendy neighbourhood is now home to the lofty Port of Leith distillery, which looks to honour the heritage of its location. More than a decade since the ‘pipe-dream’ idea was first conceived by wine merchant Ian Stirling and finance director Paddy Fletcher over a dram in Milroy's whisky bar, London, the £12m nine-storey distillery is complete and ready to welcome visitors. Reservations are now also available for the top floor mezzanine bar, also opening on October 11, a space with panoramic 360 views over the city, a floor to ceiling back whisky bar and a menu of small plates designed to showcase Scotland’s world class ingredients. Ian Stirling, Co-Founder of Port of Leith Distillery said: "We wedged our distillery tower into Edinburgh’s historic harbour to make our building as accessible as possible to people who, like us, love whisky.”

Those looking to try a dram of whisky made and distilled in Edinburgh can do so this month with the launch of Holyrood Distillery’s Arrival. Officially launching on Friday 6 October, Arrival is one of the first single malt whiskies produced in Edinburgh in a century. It is distilled from the heart of the historic old town, with striking views of Salisbury Crags; in a refurbished ‘engine shed’, once part of the terminus of the Innocent Railway. The whisky is a sweet and spicy dram, that belies its young age. Those looking to get their hands on Arrival will have to be quick with only a limited number of bottles available to purchase. If you miss out, don’t turn your back on blends. The team at Woven (also based in Leith), have been quietly creating beautiful blends, presented in understated bottles.

While Edinburgh is home to the Castle, world famous festival and fringe and a number of fine dining restaurants (to name just a few reasons to visit), it has been somewhat behind on the whisky front, with Glasgow getting back into the whisky game a few years ago with The Glasgow Distillery and Clydeside Distillery, so it’s lovely and exciting to see these businesses finally achieve what they’ve been painstakingly working towards, against all that the last few years have thrown at them. Whether that’s a challenging build, a long wait on a much anticipated dram or challenging perspectives. There’s now a few more good reasons to spend a day out in the capital.