I am a big believer in gambling money on experiences. You rarely regret what you do, but often regret missing out on things that you wish you had done. Visiting Holyrood Distillery was one of these gambles. Not only had I never tasted anything that they had produced, but I hadn’t heard of them at all, until I was searching for things to do near The Dagda Bar.
For reference, The Dagda Bar was my second favourite pub that we visited during our trip, with The Cloisters just pipping it. Both had great beer and whisky selections and had that feeling of drinking in a friend’s house that all good pubs manage to engender.
But gamble we did, going all in on the bougie £45 Behind the Cask: Whisky Experience.
Tour Style: We were taken round the distillery by a senior guide, who was friendly, knowledgeable and managed to make everything feel relaxed and yet informative. The building itself is small, so there was not a lot of touring to be done, but they make good use of the space that they do have. At first, we were introduced to the whisky-making process and taken through all the ways that Holyrood experiments with its distillation process. They are big on yeast varieties and also experiment with the mix of malted barley that they use. This results in a wide variety of spirit flavours that have a fruit-forward, light style.
Distillery Feel: Holyrood is still a relatively new distillery. It only opened in July 2019 and started producing whisky in September of the same year. It is small and was built into an old railway building that was a goods shed and a terminus for the Edinburgh and Dalkeith Railway. They have managed to retain the character of the building and yet make it accommodate a small but modern distillery.
Tasting: We tried five samples. One new make spirit, one aged new make, two of the distillery’s core range and a cask sample that is only available as part of the Behind the Cask tour. We tried Ambir, which is made with heritage barley and fermented using brewing, distilling and wine yeast. It is then aged in mostly first-fill bourbon with around 10% Spanish Oloroso casks. It was fruity, floral and had a biscuity savouriness to it. We also tried Pitch, which is made with a percentage of Brown malt and distilled with two wine yeasts. It is chocolately, sweet and has a rye bread-like yeasty quality.
Overall: Holyrood is a beautiful distillery. I love the way that they have chosen to set up a new distillery in an old industrial building. The combination of history and innovation makes this a fascinating prospect. The new is entwined with the old, which is a perfect description of the whisky that Holyrood seem intent on making. Their experimental processes and attention to detail will be interesting to any Whisky fan, new or old. While I didn’t fall in love with any of the whiskies that we tried, I did fall in love with the ambition of the whole project. This distillery, for me, was a must-visit whilst in Edinburgh.
Link: https://holyrooddistillery.co.uk/book-a-tour/