City of Edinburgh Council have approved an application to develop the Engine Shed building and site on St Leonard’s Lane into a single malt whisky distillery and visitor centre.
 |
| The Holyrood Park Distillery due to open in 2018 |
The Holyrood Park Distillery is a joint development by David Robertson, former Master Distiller for The Macallan, and Rob and Kelly Carpenter, founders of the Canadian branch of The Scotch Malt Whisky Society.
Holyrood Park will be Edinburgh’s first single malt whisky distillery since Glen Sciennes closed in the 1920s. Work will start on site in the coming months and the business aims to start distilling and open its doors to the public in 2018.
As a small scale operation, it will employ approximately 25 staff and will initially produce only 53,000 litres of alcohol per year, resulting in around 140,000 bottles of mature single malt in 8 to 12 years’ time.
Following the City of Edinburgh Council’s decision in August last year to enter into a lease with The Holyrood Park Distillery, the team behind the development held consultations with local residents and businesses to shape plans, and has taken neighbours’ feedback on board in the approved proposals.
Commenting on the news, David Robertson, project lead of The Holyrood Park Distillery, said: “After years of hard work, our team’s dream of bringing single malt whisky distilling back to Edinburgh is set to become a reality. We worked closely with local residents and businesses to build a proposal that will benefit the local community as well as Edinburgh as a whole.”
He went on to say: “Work will start later this year and throughout 2017 and by 2018 we hope to be producing beautiful, hand-crafted spirits at our world-class distillery and visitor experience in the heart of Edinburgh.”
The new distillery will also host an educational facility, to be used as a community and school resource for learning about distilling and the history of the site.
Posted by Steve Rush