Leith Export Co. Whisky

The Leith Export Co. is the main retailer for both the Port of Leith Distillery and The Lind & Lime Gin Distillery. Founders Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher, lifelong friends, first envisioned creating a whisky distillery over a dram in Milroy’s whisky bar in London. Years later, after securing a £12 million investment, the Port of Leith Distillery opened in 2023. This nine-storey, vertical distillery is divided equally between production and hospitality. Port of Leith has a production capacity of one million bottles per year. Its vintage programme plans to introduce unique, non-replicable whiskies. About 85% of the distillery operates manually. The production process involves a 7,500-litre process water tank supplying two 10,000-litre hot water tanks used for mashing, fermentation, and distillation. Water is sourced from both mains and a 20-metre borehole on-site, with blending processes to optimise flavour during fermentation. The distillery stores malted barley in a 32-tonne silo, which is then transported via a dust-controlled conveyor system to a four-roll mill for grinding. The subsequent floor houses a semi-lauter mash tun with a capacity of 1.5 tonnes and seven stainless steel washbacks, two of which feature glass windows for visitor viewing. These washbacks have a gross volume of 11,600 litres and a charge volume of 7,500 litres, equipped with cooling jackets for temperature control during fermentation. The floor below contains a 6,000-litre low wines and feints receiver and a 3,000-litre intermediate spirit receiver. The distillery includes two stills: an 8,550-litre pear-shaped wash still with a copper shell and tube condenser and a slightly declining lyne arm, and a 5,500-litre spirit still with a bulbous neck and boil ball, also featuring a copper shell and tube condenser and a slightly declining lyne arm. The founders designed the wash still to preserve as much character from the fermenters as possible, while the spirit still’s boil ball offers flexibility in creating either delicate or full-bodied spirits. Maturation will initially occur in a warehouse in Glenrothes, though there is interest in Edinburgh-based warehousing despite space and cost challenges. Standard bourbon casks will be used alongside hundreds of sherry and Port casks. The site includes a gas-fed steam boiler for steam production and an Adiabatic chiller for cooling condenser water in a closed-loop system. Two 30,000-litre effluent tanks manage waste, sent offsite for anaerobic digestion and biogas production. Brands created by Port of Leith include Perpetuity, an evolving blend, and Table whisky, a single grain blend of North British whisky aged in virgin oak and sherry casks. Additionally, the distillery offers a white and tawny Port, and manzanilla and oloroso sherry, which provide insight into how these wines will influence their whisky. Lind & Lime Gin, the brand's biggest success to date, is produced at a nearby distillery open for tours.