Port of Leith Distillery is one of the most ambitious and distinctive modern whisky projects in Scotland, bringing whisky production back to Leith through the UK’s first vertical whisky distillery. Founded by lifelong Edinburgh friends Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, the project grew out of their earlier success with Lind & Lime Gin before expanding into a full-scale Scotch whisky distillery on Leith’s historic waterfront.
Opened in 2023 after years of planning and construction, the striking nine-storey building has quickly become one of Edinburgh’s most recognisable modern distillery landmarks. Unlike traditional horizontal distilleries, Port of Leith uses a gravity-led vertical production system where milling, mashing, fermentation and distillation descend floor by floor through the building, combining technical efficiency with an unusually compact urban footprint.
The distillery reflects both modern Scotch whisky production and Leith’s historic connection to whisky blending, bonding and export. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Leith’s bonded warehouses handled enormous volumes of Scotch whisky shipped around the world, making the area one of Scotland’s most important whisky trading hubs.
Alongside whisky production, Port of Leith includes tasting rooms, tours, hospitality spaces and a rooftop bar overlooking the Firth of Forth, helping reconnect whisky production with Edinburgh’s wider food and drinks culture. The project also places strong emphasis on sustainability, contemporary design and a more modern approach to Scotch whisky presentation and hospitality.
Although still early in its whisky-making journey, Port of Leith Distillery has already become an important symbol of Edinburgh’s resurgence as a centre for modern Scotch whisky culture and one of the most closely watched new distilleries in Scotland.
