Billed as “the UK’s first vertical distillery,” Port of Leith is set to open to the public on Wednesday 11 October.
More than a decade since the ‘pipe-dream’ idea was first conceived by wine merchant Ian Stirling and finance director Paddy Fletcher, the £12m nine-storey distillery on Leith’s waterfront is complete and ready to welcome visitors.
Ian Stirling said: “Building a distillery of our own has been an ambition of Paddy and mine for over 10 years so to see the project finally come to fruition is a surreal moment for us.
“We never set out to build a vertical distillery – the shape and size of the building is a product of the tiny site we were able to secure. 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.”
Paddy Fletcher commented: “Coming from Edinburgh, we were always confused as to why there were no single malt distilleries operating in the city.
“Being able to build something modern and different has been an enormous treat; hopefully it will encourage people to take a second look at Scotch whisky as there’s huge amounts of innovation and excitement going on within the industry.”
The distillery is creating up to 50 long-term local jobs, with the capacity to produce one million bottles of whisky annually.
It is projected to attract 25,000 visitors in its first year, increasing to 160,000 by 2025.
Ian Stirling added: “We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how to make the Port of Leith tour as special as we possibly can and look forward to welcoming fans across the globe to a whisky experience like no other.”
Over the course of 90 minutes visitors will be guided through the story of the distillery’s conception, fill their own miniature bottle of new make spirit and taste their way through the distillery’s production process in its Quality Control Tasting Laboratory.
Tours will run from 12-8pm Wednesday to Friday, 11am-7pm on Saturdays and 12pm-5pm on Sundays.
Reservations are also available for the top floor mezzanine bar, also opening on 11 October, which will offer panoramic 360⁰ views over the city, a floor-to-ceiling back whisky bar and a menu of small plates designed to showcase the best of Scottish cuisine.
