A visit to the vertical Port of Leith Distillery (new make spirit tasting note included)
On a windy day at the end of December 2024, the Uber driver dropped us off near the shore of the Port of Leith. While taking pictures of the distillery of the same name we were about to visit, my phone almost flew out of my hands and into the Entrance Basin water. “Wind? What wind? Welcome to Scotland”, the driver had said before. Ocean Drive is a familiar destination for tourists to Edinburgh, since it is also the location where the Royal Yacht Britannia is moored. With all the visitors that attracts, the Port of Leith Distillery that looms on the tip of the quay cannot miss skimming off some people to their hotspot. Even if you are not interested in whisky, I can still advise going to the top of the building of this vertical distillery, and enjoy the offerings of the bar on the top floor. We did the trip the other way around, first the distillery and the rooftop bar, and then visited Queen Elizabeth’s favourite digs.
A vertical distillery
Wait a minute, I hear you think, did I read it correctly just now? Yes, you did! The newly build Port of Leith Distillery is indeed a vertical distillery! One of the two in the world, I understand, with the recently declared bankrupt Swedish Mackmyra being the other. A visit to the distillery is something I can really recommend. Not only because of this elevation towards the sky, but because the distillery was build with a very individual character. Most notably I saw this is the milling room (picture below), where the tour starts after having been introduced to some history.
Where most distilleries try to obtain an old mill from somewhere, most times breweries, Port of Leith constructed an entirely new mill that looks the part. Perfectly fitting in with the colour scheme of the surroundings, it already has an authentic feel to it. This is confirmed moreover when you enter the still room. The spirit safe (picture below) almost has an Ikea “do it yourself” vibe to it. It is big, it is open, and allows a good look inside.
The distillery was built vertically because of the limited space in the Port of Leith. Indeed, the area seems to have received quite the update, and demolishing of nearby buildings is still going on as we speak. A “half eaten” building with concrete floors and steel works hanging out are the background to the tour of the distillery all the time. At least, when you are not looking out at sea or the Forth bridges in the distance. It gave me vibes of a visit to the Clydeside Distillery in Glasgow two years ago, that overlooks the Clyde River there. Port of Leith gives quite a few distilleries a run for their money, views wise.
Star Trek Distillery
The more elemental parts of the distillery are a sight to see as well. Take the washbacks for instance. These stainless steel giants are literally hanging suspended between the floors (picture below) welded to the support beams of the structure itself.
Those are going to create some headaches when the time comes to replace them (in 50 years of so)! The floor with the washbacks is a sight full of screws and bolts and orange levers (picture below), as if you are walking in a Star Trek version of a distillery from the year 2456. It was here where we understood that Port of Leith Distillery uses predominantly Norwegian and Belgian ale yeast for their production. We will taste an example of new make spirit below.
The still room itself is the highlight of the tour. Personally, I love seeing stills at work, and I was not disappointed when I walked in. The wash still was really going at it. Be sure to look for my reel on my Instagram page (@long_pour_amour) to see the foam going. The stills themselves have an old soul by the looks of it, but the story is different. Before and after being installed, the copper creatures were left to the elements for quite a while, giving them a dark brown bronze colour because of the oxidation. (picture below) When the windows finally went in, it was apparently decided to not polish the stills, but let them keep this appearance. I think that was a good decision. It fits very well in the industrious surrounding of the Port of Leith outside vibe, where big lifting ships from Boskalis rise like steel giants on the (today) very monstrous waves.
Port of Leith New Make Spirit Drink, bottled at 40 % abv by myself
First things first: New Make Spirit Drink that was diluted to 40 % abv by the distillery itself. My sample I filled myself from a steel barrel at the end of the “Distillery Dash” tour. This was on 29 December 2024 and the new make was made with the yeast strain BE-256 as basis.
Upon Sipping: Very soft and gentle to put your nose into this, but that is most certainly also due to heavily diluting this spirit, which is a pity. I would have preferred it at the regular 63,5 % abv, so I can play with it myself. As it stands, it is very flowery and damp, like morning dew on a Spring day. When you try hard, you do get the barley that was grown and malted in an 80 mile radius around the distillery. Good to see Port of Leith keeping it as local as possible. The spirit appears to have a lot of nice fruity notes as it is, so I hope it will not be subjected too much to overpowering casks. But again, this is a thought I get from an overly diluted and rather watery character.
Word to the Wise: Enjoyable spirit, no doubt, but I would advise Port of Leith to let it shine a bit brighter with at least 50 % abv, or just 63,5 % abv like Rosebank recently did.
Score: 65 points.
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