Holyrood Distillery

A guided visit to Holyrood Distillery in Edinburgh, where visitors learn how gin and single malt whisky are made, with a tasting of both.

Holyrood Distillery is an exhibition space at 19 St Leonard's Lane in Edinburgh, offering a permanent display on the production of spirits. The visit is built around a guide who explains the history of the distillery, described as the first single malt distillery in Edinburgh for over a century, and who shows how Height of Arrows Gin is made from three key ingredients.

The tour also covers the whisky side of production. Visitors see how heritage and specialty malts, along with alternative yeasts, are used to make single malts, and how different oak barrels shape the flavour of the whisky. A guided tasting of the single malt forms part of the visit, as does a tasting of the gin and an introduction to how its flavour develops.

The visit suits anyone curious about how spirits are made, whether or not they already know the production process. It begins with a seasonal cocktail at the distillery, and the guided format gives the subject a clear structure from start to finish.