Bonnington distillery information
Bonnington Distillery sits in Leith, Edinburgh, on Graham Street. The project began in 2017, with construction starting in 2018 close to the original John Crabbie site. While digging the foundations, archaeologists uncovered the ruins of the historic Bonnington House, a former military headquarters from the siege of Edinburgh Castle, which gave the distillery its name and delayed the build by roughly a year. Bonnington was commissioned in 2019 and began production in March 2020. When it did, it was the first single malt distillery to operate in Leith in nearly a century, arriving three years before Port of Leith Distillery opened nearby in 2023. Bonnington now sits alongside distilleries such as Glasgow Distillery and Clydeside in the Lowland region.
The distillery is owned by Halewood Artisanal Spirits (part of Halewood International), and is the home of the revived John Crabbie & Co. whisky brand as well as Bonnington’s own single malt releases. Its water is drawn from an ancient aquifer 147m below the site. The distillery uses bespoke squat-neck stills made by Speyside Copper Works, designed to produce a spirit described by the distillery itself as leaning more toward a Highland style than a traditional light Lowland character.
Bonnington operates under noise and production concessions agreed with local residents (no 24-hour running at first, no Sunday production), though a 2023 expansion added washback capacity to allow round-the-clock operation five days a week.
Bonnington Whiskies
Note: Bonnington doesn’t yet have an established multi-age core range – production only began in 2020, so nothing could legally be called Scotch until 2023. What’s below reflects the current, still-young state of the range, split between the distillery’s own name and its sister brand.
Released under Bonnington’s own name so far, both limited single-cask expressions rather than a standing range:
- Bonnington Inaugural Release – single cask, matured in ruby Port casks, released January 2024, only 500 bottles.
- Bonnington Sherry Cask – matured in Pedro Ximénez sherry casks, released 2024.
Separately, sister brand John Crabbie & Co. (same owner, same site) sells its own range, only part of which is Bonnington spirit:
- John Crabbie single malt – explicitly stated as drawn from Bonnington, aged in 100% virgin American oak.
- The rest of the John Crabbie range (8, 12, 15, 28, 30, 40, and 50 year-old expressions, plus Crabbie & Cree and Johnny Cree blends) is sourced from other distilleries entirely, since Bonnington isn’t old enough to have produced whisky of those ages. The 50 year-old, for instance, is explicitly a single cask from Bunnahabhain.
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Bonnington |
| Region | Lowland |
| Country | Scotland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2019 |
| Water source | Ancient aquifer, 147m below the distillery |
| Malting floor | No |
| Owned by | Halewood Artisanal Spirits |
| Address |
21 Graham Street, |
| Visitor centre | No |
| Website | https://crabbiewhisky.com/bonnington-distillery/ |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 2.5 tonnes | 1 (Semi-lauter, stainless steel) |
| Washback | 10,000 litres | 6 (Stainless steel) |
| Wash still | 10,000 litres | 1 (Copper, squat-neck, Speyside Copper Works) |
| Spirit Still | 7,500 litres | 1 (Copper, squat-neck, Speyside Copper Works) |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 500,000 |
Images courtesy of Bonnington Distillery
Frequently Asked Questions
Bonnington sits on Graham Street in Leith, Edinburgh, near the site once occupied by the original John Crabbie distillery.
While digging the foundations, archaeologists uncovered the ruins of the historic Bonnington House, a former military headquarters used during the siege of Edinburgh Castle. The discovery gave the distillery its name and delayed construction by around a year.
The project began in 2017, with construction starting in 2018. The distillery was commissioned in 2019 and began production in March 2020, making it the first single malt distillery to open in Leith in nearly a century, three years before Port of Leith Distillery opened nearby in 2023.
Bonnington is owned by Halewood Artisanal Spirits, and is home to the revived John Crabbie & Co. whisky brand as well as Bonnington’s own releases.
Bonnington uses bespoke squat-neck stills from Speyside Copper Works, producing a spirit the distillery itself describes as leaning more towards a Highland style than the traditionally light Lowland character. Process water is drawn from an ancient aquifer 147 metres below the site.
Bonnington operates under concessions agreed with local residents, so it did not initially run for 24 hours a day or produce on Sundays. A 2023 expansion added washback capacity, allowing round-the-clock operation five days a week.
Since production only began in 2020, nothing distilled at Bonnington could legally be called Scotch until 2023, so releases under the Bonnington name so far have been limited single-cask expressions: the Inaugural Release, matured in ruby Port casks and bottled in January 2024 as 500 bottles, and a Sherry Cask release matured in Pedro Ximénez casks, also 2024.
No. The John Crabbie single malt is explicitly drawn from Bonnington’s own spirit, but other expressions in the wider John Crabbie range are sourced elsewhere. Its 50 Year Old, for example, is a single cask sourced from Bunnahabhain.
Bonnington sits alongside Glasgow Distillery and Clydeside in the Lowland whisky region.