Port of Leith

Type: Distillery

The stills at Port of Leith stand on the first floor against a window several storeys high, looking out over the Firth.[4] Beside Ocean Terminal and the Royal Yacht Britannia in Leith, Edinburgh, this vertically arranged whisky distillery makes its waterfront setting part of the spectacle.[1] It opened to visitors in October 2023; distillation of its own single malt began in early 2024.[5][8] The visitor opening and the start of whisky production are distinct milestones.

Fact box

What makes Port of Leith stand out

Port of Leith builds upwards rather than outwards. Its production spaces occupy the first four floors, according to Whisky Magazine, with visitor areas spread across the top four and a half floors.[4] The tower is more than a distinctive shell: its layout helps explain how the distillery works.

The producer calls it Scotland’s first vertical distillery and describes a nine-storey building. Whisky Magazine gives the height as eight and a half storeys.[3][4] Accounts differ on the precise count, but the organising idea is clear: production below, visitor spaces above.

The waterfront gives that arrangement its drama. Against the tall window, the stills overlook the Firth; higher up, a top-floor mezzanine bar opens up views across Leith.[4][6] The equipment and the outlook give Port of Leith its character, without any need to rank its height against every other distillery.

Two friends and a route through gin

Gin helped pay the way to whisky. Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, friends who grew up together in Edinburgh, established the Leith drinks producer and importer Muckle Brig in 2014 to support their distillery plans. Stirling had worked as a wine merchant; Fletcher was an accountant.[5]

The producer traces their ambition to a shared flat in London, where they imagined building a distillery back in their home city.[3] Lind & Lime then provided a funding stream for the whisky project.[5][11] Here, gin was a route towards the whisky distillery, rather than a later addition to it.

Lind & Lime London Dry Gin has been made in Leith since 2018, beginning at the Tower Street Stillhouse. Its separate distillery on Coburg Street followed in May 2022.[5][6][7] These are distinct chapters in the wider business: the start of gin production, the establishment of the separate Coburg Street distillery and the opening of Port of Leith each have their own date.

Story box: From a shared flat to a vertical distillery

Founding story: The producer places the beginnings in a shared London flat, where Edinburgh friends Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher imagined their distillery. Trade reporting records Muckle Brig’s establishment in 2014.[3][5]

Turning point: Construction began in 2020.[5]

Documented record: The founders, their earlier careers, Muckle Brig’s establishment and gin’s funding role are recorded; the shared-flat story is attributed to the producer.[3][5][11]

Verdict badge

• Claim: Two Edinburgh friends developed their shared ambition into the Port of Leith distillery project.
• Verdict: Documented.
• What the record shows: The producer recounts the shared-flat ambition; trade reporting identifies both founders and the business established in 2014.[3][5]
• Evidence against or gap: The shared-flat detail rests on the producer’s account.
• Earliest known source: Not established from the supplied record.
• Sources and claim mapping: Shared-flat ambition, producer’s account; founders, careers, 2014 business and construction date, Whisky.com; gin’s funding role, Lind & Lime history.
• Last checked: 7 November 2026.

How production fits into the tower

Gravity has a role in the tower’s production design. Reporting describes an energy-saving gravitational system, making the vertical layout a practical choice as well as an architectural one.[6] No measured energy saving is given in the available record.

The two stills were installed in March 2023: a 7,000-litre wash still and a 5,000-litre spirit still, both supplied by Speyside Copper Works in Elgin.[6] Distillation followed in early 2024.[5]

Whisky Magazine reports seven fermentation vessels, with six in regular use, and installed capacity of about 400,000 litres of pure alcohol a year. That record was checked in November 2026.[4] The capacity describes the installed equipment’s potential, not a verified annual output.

The producer says its grain comes from a single farm just outside Edinburgh. It also describes years of research into yeast and fermentation, and relationships with wine and bourbon producers through which it obtains casks.[3] These details set out the producer’s approach to making and maturing whisky; they do not yet supply a tasting record for its mature single malt.

The broad production picture is nevertheless clear: vertically organised spaces, two stills, fermentation research and relationships supplying maturation casks.[3][4][6] For now, those are the foundations of the whisky’s story. Its mature character remains a chapter to come.

Production timeline

The precise opening date is disputed. The Spirits Business reported an opening on 27 September 2023, while another account gives the public opening as 11 October 2023.[9][14] Equipment installation, visitor access and whisky production were separate milestones.[5][6][8]

When considering the age of whisky made here, the relevant starting point is the reported beginning of distillation in early 2024, rather than the building’s opening.[5] Photographs of the finished tower and opening reports do not establish the whisky’s age or when the spirit entered cask.

Which whiskies are its own?

Port of Leith’s own single malt was still maturing in the November 2026 record. While it develops, the business has released the Leith Bond range of blended, single grain and single cask whiskies.[10][15] Release by the business does not necessarily mean distillation in the tower.

Table Whisky makes the distinction especially clear. This single grain whisky is distilled elsewhere in Edinburgh, matured in new oak and PX sherry casks, and bottled at 43% ABV.[8][10] It is not Port of Leith’s own single malt.

The first malt’s timetable has two reported milestones. Scotland.org says the first batch will mature in 2027; the Gazetteer for Scotland gives an expected release in 2032.[10][12] Maturity and release are different events, and neither account confirms a first-release date.

For bottle descriptions, origin and whisky type matter more than the tower’s opening date: the 2023 visitor opening preceded distillation, and Table Whisky remains single grain, not “single malt”.[5][8][10]

Visiting Port of Leith

The producer describes a flagship tour lasting 90 minutes, including filling a miniature bottle of spirit.[3] The building itself is part of the experience: visitor spaces occupy the upper floors, and the mezzanine bar offers views over Leith, above the production spaces below.[4][6]

Before travelling, check the official website for booking arrangements, current visitor access, accessibility information and age rules. The published tour description is a starting point, not a substitute for confirming arrangements for a particular visit.

Check the destination, too. Lind & Lime’s gin distillery is at 24 Coburg Street, Leith, EH6 6HB. Port of Leith is the waterfront whisky distillery beside Ocean Terminal and the Royal Yacht Britannia.[1][7] They share a place in the founders’ wider project, but they are separate visitor destinations.

Where to go next

• Holyrood: continue with another distillery profile.
• The Clydeside Distillery: explore a further entry in the Lowland distillery collection.
• Lindores Abbey: follow another distillery’s individual story.

Sources

[1] Scottish Field. Port of Leith opens its Lind & Lime gin distillery. Online article, publication year not supplied in the fact sheet. https://www.scottishfield.co.uk/food-and-drink-2/port-of-leith-opens-its-lind-lime-gin-distillery/

[3] Port of Leith Distillery. The Port Of Leith Distillery. Producer website, undated edition supplied. https://www.leithdistillery.com/

[4] Whisky Magazine. Port of Leith: Distilling Scotch from top to bottom. Online article, publication year not supplied in the fact sheet. https://www.whiskymag.com/articles/port-of-leith-distilling-scotch-from-top-to-bottom/

[5] Whisky.com. Port of Leith Distillery. Online profile, undated edition supplied. https://www.whisky.com/whisky-database/distilleries/details/port-of-leith.html

[6] Edinburgh Reporter. Stills are installed at Leith’s new distillery. March 2023. https://theedinburghreporter.co.uk/2023/03/stills-are-installed-at-leiths-new-distillery/

[7] Lind & Lime Gin. The Tour. Producer website, undated edition supplied. https://www.lindandlime.com/findus

[8] Forever Edinburgh. Port of Leith Distillery. Online profile, publication year not supplied in the fact sheet. https://edinburgh.org/meet-edinburghs-makers/port-of-leith-distillery/

[10] Scotland.org. Scotland is an exciting place to do business. Online feature, publication year not supplied in the fact sheet. https://www.scotland.org/inspiration/scotland-is-an-exciting-place-to-do-business-meet-the-whisky-makers-shaking-up-a-traditional-industry

[11] Wikipedia. Lind & Lime gin distillery. Online reference article, revision identifier not supplied in the fact sheet. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lind_&_Lime_gin_distillery

[12] Gazetteer for Scotland. Port of Leith Distillery. Online entry, undated edition supplied. https://www.scottish-places.info/scotgaz/features/featurefirst94785.html

[15] Port of Leith Shop. Whisky collection. Producer’s product information, undated edition supplied. https://shop.leithdistillery.com/collections/whisky?page=2

This desk-researched article uses the supplied verified fact sheet, distinguishing producer accounts, reported production details and sourced whiskies.

Last checked: November 2026