Crabbie’s whisky back in Edinburgh after a century

John Crabbie’s single malt whisky production has begun in  Edinburgh for the first time in nearly 100 years.

Halewood Wines & Spirits, owners of Whitley Neill Gin, Crabbie’s and the Crabbie malt whisky brand, announced that spirit production has commenced at its new distillery in the capital.

Halewood, which celebrated its 40^th anniversary earlier this year, confirmed that the distillery in Granton, has started to produce single malt distillate.

Halewood CEO Stewart Hainsworth said: ‘The business has enjoyed strong growth in the past few years, driven by artisanal spirits and craft beer. The Chain Pier distillery in Granton is the first in a series of investments in Scotland. Added to this, construction is currently underway of a larger whisky distillery in Leith, Edinburgh.

‘This will be the new home of John Crabbie & Co. These two distilleries are part of our £50m investment programme in artisanal spirits in the UK.’

In the 1800’s and early 1900’s, Edinburgh was the capital city of Scotch whisky with numerous distilleries. The associated whisky bonds in Leith, where most of the aging of whisky took place, were the largest in the world. It is believed that it’s over 100 years since a new malt whisky distillery opened in the city. Dedicated commercial production of whisky ended in 1925 when ‘Sciennes distillery’ closed.

The Crabbie whisky business was established in 1801 and became one of the most influential names in the whisky industry. It was relaunched in January this year and has released a range of award winning independent bottlings aged from 8 to 40 years old, from distilleries around Scotland.

David Brown, managing director of John Crabbie & Co, added: ‘The Chain Pier distillery in Granton gives us the opportunity to develop a wide range of new spirits, as we wait for our new distillery in Leith to be completed. Laying down our first cask of spirit is a significant milestone for the rejuvenated business and signals the return of single malt whisky production to Edinburgh after an absence of nearly a century.’