Port of Leith Distillery
Rising nine storeys above the old harbour at Leith, Port of Leith Distillery is the UK’s first vertical distillery and one of the newest additions to the Lowland whisky map. Where most distilleries spread their production across a single level, Port of Leith stacks the whole process from mill to maturation up through a striking steel-framed tower on the banks of the Firth of Forth, a design forced by the tight footprint of its harbourside plot next to the Royal Yacht Britannia and Ocean Terminal.
The distillery is the work of childhood friends Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, who founded the Leith-based drinks company Muckle Brig in 2014 and first made their name with Lind & Lime Gin before turning to whisky. Planning permission for the distillery was submitted in 2017 and granted in 2019; construction began in 2020 and the building opened to visitors in October 2023 after a reported 12 million pound build. Production of the distillery’s own single malt began in early 2024, using barley grown at a single farm (Upper Bolton Farm, Haddington) just outside Edinburgh, and drawing on a three year yeast and fermentation research project run with Heriot-Watt University.
Because that single malt only started filling casks in 2024, it is still maturing and no age-stated Port of Leith single malt has been released yet (a first release is not expected for several more years). In the meantime the distillery trades under its bottling arm, Leith Export Co (also referred to as Leith Bond), which sources, blends and bottles whisky including its own Table Whisky and Perpetuity labels.
Production
Grain arrives on the fourth floor, where it is milled on site before moving to a 1.5 tonne semi-lauter mash tun. The wort then drops down to seven 7,500 litre stainless steel fermenters suspended between the second and third floors (six are in regular use). A pair of copper pot stills from The Speyside Copper Works in Elgin sit lower in the building, deliberately left unlined so the copper darkens with a natural patina over time. Water is drawn both from the distillery’s own well and Edinburgh’s mains supply. At full tilt the site is designed for around 400,000 litres of pure alcohol a year, though production is still ramping up toward that figure.
Visiting
Port of Leith runs guided tours (including a “fill your own miniature bottle” experience) and tastings, and tops the building with a whisky bar looking out over the Forth.
Port of Leith Whiskies
Note: this is not yet the distillery’s own aged single malt (still maturing, see above). This reflects the current retail range under the Leith Export Co / Leith Bond label:
- Table Whisky – a single grain Scotch, distilled in Edinburgh and blended in Leith from new oak and sherry cask stock, bottled at 43% ABV. Available in 700ml, 50ml miniature, and 100ml can formats.
- Perpetuity – a blended Scotch Whisky from Leith Export Co (currently on at least Batch 3); core details on cask makeup unconfirmed, flagging for your fact-check.
Distillery info:
Detail |
Information |
|---|---|
| Name | Port of Leith Distillery |
| Region | Lowland |
| Logo |  |
| Status | Active |
| Founded | 2023 |
| Water source | ? |
| Owned by | Muckle Brig Ltd |
| Address |
11 Whisky Quay, |
| Visitor centre | Yes |
| Website | https://www.leithdistillery.com |
| https://www.twitter.com/leithdistillery | |
| N/A | |
| Community | N/A |
| Map |
Distillery Setup:
Component |
Capacity |
Quantity |
|---|---|---|
| Mash tun | 1.5 tonnes | 1 (semi-lauter) |
| Washback | 7,500 litres | 7 installed, 6 in regular use (stainless steel) |
| Wash still | ? litres | Copper pot still, unlined/patinated, Speyside Copper Works |
| Spirit Still | ? litres | Copper pot still, unlined/patinated, Speyside Copper Works |
| Expected yearly output in LPA (Litres of pure alcohol) | 400,000 |