It's the dawn of a new era for whisky in the capital

July 30, 2019 | Uncategorized

Today is a historic date for Edinburgh and the Scotch whisky industry as Holyrood Distillery opens its doors.

This has brought single malt whisky distilling back to the centre of the capital for the first time in almost 100 years.

This morning, founder Rob Carpenter and his team gathered to unveil their distillery and welcome the very first visitors for one of their daily guided tour experiences.

Holyrood Distillery, which cost £6.7m and has created around 30 jobs, is the first operational single malt distillery in central Edinburgh since 1925 when The Edinburgh Distillery (aka Glen Sciennes) closed.

The distillery, which also produces a range of gins and gin liqueurs, offers daily guided tours throughout the year and is set to become a major visitor attraction in Edinburgh for both tourists and locals.

Holyrood Distillery founders David Robertson and Rob Carpenter (Photo: Greg Macvean)

Located on the edge of Holyrood Park and close to popular Edinburgh Festival Fringe venues The Pleasance and George Square, the new distillery is within easy walking distance of the city’s main attractions, including The National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh Castle and the Palace of Holyroodhouse. It is also a short walk or bus ride from Waverley Station.

Until today, the nearest malt whisky distillery has been Glenkinchie, which sits around 15 miles away from the city centre. Now visitors can, for the first time in 94 years, explore a working whisky distillery in the heart of the city.

The distillery, which has been built in a 3-storey Class B Listed former railway goods shed dating back to 1831, will focus on the creation of maximum flavour in all the spirits it produces. Using innovative production approaches, such as a complex combination of yeasts and a unique selection of different types and styles of malted barley, it will initially produce four core flavours of whisky – smoky; sweet; spicy; and fruity/floral.

Spirit production will be handled by distillery manager Jack Mayo, previously of The Glasgow Distillery, alongside distillers Ollie Salvesen and Elizabeth Machin. The whisky is distilled using two exceptionally tall stills – at 7m tall, they are the tallest stills in Scotland in proportion to their volume.

A tour group outside the Holyrood Distillery (Photo: Greg Macvean)

Holyrood Distillery is the notion of Canadian Rob Carpenter who, in 2013, first had the idea for a distillery and visitor experience in central Edinburgh. Rob, who founded the Canadian branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society together with his wife Kelly, has brought his vision to life in partnership with co-founder David Robertson, who has 25 years’ experience in the industry.

To fund the project, Carpenter and his team raised £5.8m of investment. This included a £1.5m investment from the Scottish Investment Bank, the largest single investor, and investments from about 60 private individuals from around the world.

Rob said: ‘After all the hard work of the team, it’s a really special moment to now see Holyrood Distillery open, and we’re looking forward to creating a range of delicious whiskies, gins, liqueurs and other spirits.

‘I’d like to thank everyone who has contributed to this project throughout its evolution for their hard work and passion – and especially all our local neighbours for bearing with us during the construction process.

Holyrood Distillery whisky stills and washbacks (Photo: Greg Macvean)

‘This distillery is open to everyone, whether you’re a local resident or you’re just visiting the city for a day. We’ve worked hard to create a series of tours that are both fun and informative so they appeal to a wide range of visitors, from connoisseurs of whisky and gin to those who are simply curious to learn more about these spirits for the first time. Our guides are very excited to get started so please come by and visit us.’

Kerry Sharp, director of the Scottish Investment Bank, said: ‘I’m pleased that our investment has supported the development, by an outstanding team, of this new distillery and visitor experience in Scotland’s capital.

‘Tourism supports more than 30,000 jobs in Edinburgh, with more than £1m per day being spent on food and drink – and Holyrood Distillery is a fantastic addition to both these sectors. We look forward to working more with the team going forward, helping them to maximise the full potential of the attraction.’

Bookings for Holyrood’s range of daily guided distillery tours, all of which focus on exploring flavour, are now open via its website at https://www.holyrooddistillery.co.uk/tours/ with tickets for adults starting at £14.