Holyrood Distillery, founded in 2019, is the first whisky distillery in Edinburgh since 1925. You can find the distillery in a former railway goods shed, which dates to the 1830s. It is the perfect location for the new city centre distillery. Holyrood Distillery aims to be different, more modern in its whisky-making approach. They play around with different recipes using unique yeasts, speciality malts and production techniques. When it comes to whisky making, their mindset and motto is ‘test, learn, improve, repeat’.
I paid a visit to the distillery to learn more about their methods and to sample their Embra single malt release. We won’t be seeing a core range of whisky releases from the distillery; instead, they are focusing on small-batch releases, allowing the whisky makers to create interesting flavour profiles and push the boundaries of whisky production.
Holyrood New Make
To understand Holyrood’s whisky releases, I feel you need to learn more about their new make. The distillery puts a lot of time and energy into both the malt and the yeast. Of course, their cask selection plays a big role in their whisky, but they also believe that speciality malts and different yeast selections are key to creating unique flavours.
Unlike any other distillery, Holyrood has been making several types of new make, which they then bottle and sell at the distillery. I truly recommend taking the tour to get a chance to sample some of these new makes, as it really is incredible how the flavours differ between the releases.
The key factors are the type of malt (chocolate, Islay peated, crystal, black, biscuit, etc. and a range of heritage malts) and yeast (tequila, champagne, sake, ale…) used, the length of the fermentation (48 to 380 hours – whoa!) and how they are running their stills from the cut points to the number of distillations. For example, they can do a slower run and get a very light spirit with lots of reflux. Holyrood has the second-tallest stills in Scotland. The seven-metre stills are tallest by volume due to being tall yet being so small in capacity.
The label on the new make bottle will outline the full recipe and process from start to finish as the distillery wants to be transparent in its approach.
Embra Single Malt
Embra, 43.6% ABV, is the second single malt whisky release from the distillery. This time they are introducing some gentle peat into the mix. Embra is triple-cask matured with a variety of yeasts and malts, including chocolate malt, heavily peated malt and passion fruit wine yeast.
Only 56% of the mashbill used for this release was heavily peated. They also used small quarter casks that previously held Islay whisky. The rest was matured in first-fill bourbon barrels and new American oak barrels. Overall, the whisky is lightly peated with a very gentle smoky profile, perfect for those new to peated whiskies.
Embra bottles have a ‘lino-cut’ label design style, which takes inspiration from images of St Leonard. Not only is Holyrood Distillery located in St Leonard’s Lane, but St Leonard was the patron saint of barrel makers. The name Embra comes from the colloquial term for Edinburgh.
Tasting notes
Below you can find my tasting notes for Embra single malt scotch whisky.
Colour: Very light golden
Nose: Sweet smoke, rainy day walk, apricot, floral honey, minty dark chocolate, caramel coated popcorn, green apple
Palate: Caramel wafers (although not overly sweet), subtle ash, coal smoke, oak, crisp apples and pears
Finish: More orchard fruits with lingering smoke, reasonably long finish
The whisky sticks to the glass nicely. I was maybe expecting a little bit more on the mouthfeel due to the weight, but I was positively surprised with the length of the finish. Okay, it’s clear this is still a young whisky, but it is approachable and light. Perfect for the warmer summer evenings and for those slowly getting used to smokier whiskies. Look forward to seeing how their whiskies evolve with age. Also, keep an eye out for the latest single casks release!
Elizabeth Yard Rum
The Holyrood Distillery spirit portfolio also includes rum. Their mission is to source rare and exciting rums from various locations, using only producers who use 100% locally grown sugar cane.
Their ‘Sherry Cask Edition’, 42.5% ABV, includes single estate molasses rum from the Philippines, blended with high-ester pot still rum from Ghana, and aromatic cane juice rum from Vietnam. Each rum in the blend has been specially selected for its quality. No sugar or artificial colours have been added.
Elizabeth Yard’s bottle shape is reminiscent of an original Navy Rum flagon, and the pattern comes from the unique form of camouflage used for the naval ships. The packaging design pays tribute to the origins of the Royal Elizabeth Yard and its relationship to the nearby naval bases on the Firth of Forth at South Queensferry.
Tasting notes
I bought myself a little sample of the sherry-cask edition so I can take my time to try it at home and test it in a cocktail.
Nose: Banana pancakes with oats, vanilla Chupa Chups, milky sweets, candy store, mango ice cream
Palate: Rum & raising ice cream, vanilla custard, marzipan, birthday cake, fruit salad with whipped cream, sticky toffee pudding, McDonald’s toffee sauce
Finish: Darker chocolate with cranberries, dried raspberries, creaminess yet not sickly in anyway
Wow! This tasted much sweeter when I tried it at home than when I sampled it at the shop. I remember saying how it is not that sweet and I was sure the guy at the shop looked a bit surprised, now I understand why. The nose is very sweet and syrupy and even if there is a lot of sweet notes on the palate as well, it is not cloying in anyway.
Look forward to trying this in a cocktail.
Scotland has a long history of rum, read more about it here.
Holyrood Distillery Gin & Vodka
Is it even a distillery if it doesn’t have gin available? The Height of Arrows gin range showcases the main ingredient in gin – juniper. Their core recipe also includes Isle of Skye sea salt and natural beeswax. The beeswax is used to create an oily texture and the sea salt enhances the juniper.
Height of Arrows Funk, 43% ABV, is made with fermented juniper. The juniper is fermented in a mixture of sea salt and lemon. Their ‘Heavy’, 46% ABV, release is an Old Tom Gin made with roasted juniper, which is said to extract more flavour to create a big and robust gin. The added sugar will balance the flavours and bring a little sweetness. The ‘Bright’ release uses over three times the amount of juniper than the other releases, bottled at 48% ABV.
Harvest Vodka, 43% ABV, was created to give the heritage barley a new lease of life. To create this vodka they made a new make spirit using special heritage barley, and instead of placing the spirit in barrels for ageing, it was blended with neutral grain spirit and water. This process is said to intensify the barley’s natural flavours and showcase the unique character. The resulting spirit is reminiscent of vodka, but with sweet creamy flavours of malted barley.
Have you visited Holyrood Distillery? What do you think about their spirit range?
Disclaimer: This post has been created in collaboration with Holyrood Distillery. Some of the links used are affiliate links. If you buy through the links, I may receive a commission for the sale. This has no effect on the price for you.
