Port of Leith Distillery holds the title of the world’s tallest distillery. Rising above Edinburgh’s historic port district, right beside the Royal Yacht Britannia, it offers an immersive experience for whisky lovers, with different parts of the whisky production taking place across nine floors of the building. The highlight of the visit is the restaurant and bar on the top floor, with panoramic views over Edinburgh.
How it all began
The intention was never to build a vertical distillery, and it was a result of many unexpected twists and turns along the way. The initial design was, in fact, completely different, planned for another site and under another name. Unfortunately, the funding fell through and the land was sold to someone else. The founders, Ian Fletcher and Paddy Stirling, had to find new investors (this time more than one…) as well as a new location.
This is when they found the current plot right next to the sea in Leith. The problem was the size of the land, which meant that to create their dream distillery, they had to build upwards. They took inspiration from the Swedish Mackmyra Distillery, which stands 37 metres tall. Port of Leith surpasses it at 40 metres. A vertical design can lower energy consumption by relying on gravity rather than pumps. Mackmyra achieved savings of up to 45%, but Port of Leith has yet to release comparable data.
After four years of construction (and a lot of money spent), the distillery was finally ready to open for visitors in 2023, although it wasn’t until the following year that they filled their first casks.
Also, in 2016 they received funding to embark on major production research together with the International Centre for Brewing & Distillery at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. Over several years, they carried out experiments using yeasts from beer, wine, sake and more, followed by commercial trials in June 2021 at the Glasgow Distillery.
The barley farm and the maltings are fairly local to the distillery, located on both sides of Edinburgh. The distillery uses a 7,000-litre wash still and a 5,000-litre spirit still, allowing around 400,000 litres of spirit per year.
Visiting the Port of Leith Distillery
The tour at Port of Leith is worth it even if there’s not much whisky to be sampled yet. It is interesting to see the layout and how things work in a vertical building. Fraser, our tour guide, was also very entertaining. Sometimes distillery tours can feel a bit stiff and samey, especially if you do them regularly, but Fraser managed to keep the audience captivated throughout.
There are two tour options, depending on how much time you have and whether you want to sit down and sample a few things. While the spirit is maturing in the warehouse, they offer a tasting to showcase the journey from new make to whisky. We tried two new makes made with two different yeast varieties (great way to highlight how new makes can differ), an oloroso sherry, a port and a very young whisky. The distillery bottles and sells both the sherry and the port, but by sampling them you get some idea what has been steeped into those casks before they are filled with the distillery’s new-make spirit.
The whisky itself wasn’t that exciting, but I wouldn’t draw any conclusions yet. I will quite happily wait until the distillery releases its official first expression. Good things come to those who wait. Meanwhile, you can try their Lind & Lime Gin, citrusy gin, lifted by warming pink peppercorns (and a few other botanicals). It comes in an eye-catching bottle!
Be sure to visit the distillery’s whisky bar before or after your tour. We enjoyed an excellent lunch there and it’s a spot I’d happily return to. As a new distillery, Port of Leith has chosen to spotlight younger whiskies in its collection. The carefully curated list features more than 200 expressions under ten years old, including bottlings from recently established distilleries. It’s a refreshing reminder that quality isn’t defined solely by age. To balance the selection, a handful of older and rare malts are also included.
Have you been to the distillery or had a drink at the whisky bar?
Disclaimer: My tour was free of charge but the rest I covered myself. Cover image from the Port of Leith Distillery.
