August Whiskies of the Month
This month’s theme is Edinburgh, and all our chosen whiskies have a story connected to the city. Why Edinburgh? The city chose July 2024 to mark the beginning of its 900th anniversary. Edinburgh 900 is a year-long series of events and activities, running until August 2025, led by a wide range of organisations across the city. Together, they tell the story of Edinburgh through the centuries from the 12th-century City of David to today’s 21st-century City of Diversity. edinburgh.org/900/about/
Lowland: Holyrood Embra
Holyrood distillery opened in 2019 and was the first distillery in Edinburgh for almost 100 years. It sits in Grade-A listed building which housed an old railway yard used for storing coal that was being transported into the city from the local mines in Midlothian and East Lothian. Holyrood’s distillers pride themselves on their innovative way of making their whisky whilst staying in the boundaries of Scotch Whisky’s strict parameters. They love challenging themselves to be as creative as possible.
Embra is a lightly smoked whisky, and the name comes from the Scottish way of saying Edinburgh.
Tasting
Nose – Lemon zest, hint of peppermint, light hickory smoke
Palate – Wafer biscuit, dark chocolate mousse, earthy highland peat smoke
Finish – Light notes of stewed pears
The distillery sits not far from the 640 acre royal park which is one of the many green spaces in the city centre. Wandering through the park you can visit a 15th century medieval chapel and Duddingston Loch which has an abundance of wildlife, birds and flora. Overlooking the park is Arthur’s Seat, an ancient volcano rising to 251 metres above sea level at its summit. From here, you’ll find excellent views across the city.
Image captured at The Meadows with Arthur’s Seat in the background.
Highland: Wolfburn Northland
Wolfburn Distillery is located in Thurso, the most northerly town on the Scottish mainland. Many of the town’s records date back to Viking times, when it became an important port for those travelling south from the northern isles of Orkney and Shetland. The original distillery was established in 1821 but ceased operations in the 1860s. In 2013, nearly 150 years later, a new distillery was built just a short distance from the original site, close to the water source that gave it its name—the Wolf Burn.
Northland is the distillery’s flagship whisky.
Tasting
Nose – Sweet with fruit and sea salt, citrus freshness, hint of cereal
Palate – Floral flavours, dried fruit and spice
Nose – soft sweet tones, very gentle trace of smoke
But what is the Edinburgh connection, we hear you ask?! The distillery is around 250 miles from Edinburgh, so if you were to walk there and back, you would cover 500 miles. And if you enjoyed your visit enough to go again, that would be 500 more! This, of course, is a nod to the Proclaimers’ iconic song, which has been a hit around the world. The Proclaimers are fronted by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid, who were born in Edinburgh’s port of Leith.
Speyside: Glenlivet Founder's Reserve
Nestled in the secluded Livet Valley, Glenlivet Distillery stands on a site long valued for its abundant water and remote location – ideal qualities during the early years of illicit distilling.
The distillery was officially founded by George Smith in 1824 and was the first in the valley to receive one of the new distilling licences introduced in 1823 to regulate the whisky industry. By obtaining an official licence, George brought increased scrutiny to the other distillers in the valley – a move that wasn’t welcomed at the time. The distillery was even threatened with being burnt down, and a friend gave George a pair of flintlock pistols to protect himself.
In the 1830s, Edinburgh-based Andrew Usher & Sons became the distillery’s sales agents, helping to spread its whisky far and wide through their national and international networks.
The Founder’s Reserve was made as a tribute to George Smith.
Tasting
Nose – Creamy vanilla, orange, pear drops and banana
Palate – Ripe pears, zesty orange, toffee apple
Finish – Long, creamy and smooth
A further connection to Edinburgh came in August 1822 when King George IV visited the capital. In doing so, he was the first reigning monarch to travel to Scotland in over 170 years. The visit was orchestrated by Sir Walter Scott, a prominent Scottish writer from the city. To make the visit as ‘Scottish’ as possible, there was many grand processions through the city, Highland dress displays and Ceilidh dances. The King asked for whisky and Glenlivet was the whisky of choice. Due to the date being before 1823 the whisky may or may not have been illicit!
Image captured facing George Street with George IV statue in the background.
Islay: Edinburgh Whisky Islay
Edinburgh Whisky is a family owned company based in Edinburgh specialising in maturing and bottling Scotch whisky. As an independent bottler, they have choice over collaborations with well known distilleries throughout Scotland. Their current design of bottle is interwoven with a unique Edinburgh Whisky tartan.
This whisky is an 8 year old from an established Islay distillery.
Tasting
Nose – Peat smoke, sea salt, roasted malt, sweet fruit hints
Palate – Creamy body, BBQ smoke, spiced fruit, integrated peat
Finish – Smooth, lingering peat-fruited spice and warmth
The company is based in the Leith area of Edinburgh. Leith once housed over 100 whisky bonded warehouses and exported the finished whisky worldwide from its port. Many of the whiskies were sent to Leith from the Highlands and matured and blended in the warehouses before onward travel. As an international port, it also imported various wines and spirits from around the globe and some of the emptied casks were later used for the maturation of Scotch whisky.
Blended: Antiquary 15
James Hardie established J&W Hardie as a wine, spirit and tea merchant in Picardy Place in Edinburgh in 1861. In the 1880s, like so many merchants of the time, they became more involved in blending their own whiskies. In 1888 Antiquary was born, inspired by Sir Walter Scott’s novel with the same name. The early labels featured characters from the book. As one of the founding shareholders in Edinburgh’s North British grain whisky distillery, the blend benefitted from a steady supply of grain whisky as the base of the blend.
The 15 year old whisky has been matured in red wine claret casks from Bordeaux.
Tasting
Nose – Polished leather, pipe tobacco, orange, grilled peach
Palate – Rhubarb, Raspberry coulis, vanilla
Finish – Warming fruit jam
The name of the whisky brand and the references to Sir Walter Scott’s novel, highlights the literary connection with whisky and the Scottish capital. Many famous authors were born in Edinburgh, and their books are known throughout the world with many adapted for the screen over the years. Some of these famous authors include Muriel Spark (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie), Kenneth Grahame (The Wind in the Willows), Robert Louis Stevenson (Treasure Island) and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Sherlock Holmes).
Image captured in the New Town with the Scott’s Monument in the background.
Luxury: Raasay Quercus Humboldtii
Inspired by the lost Hebridean style of whisky the co-founders identified Raasay as the perfect island for their venture. They set about revitalising the 19th century Borodale House into a distillery, visitor centre and onsite accommodation. Opening in 2017, this was the island’s first ever legal distillery. The distillery employs 25 of the 161 people who live on the island.
Tasting
Nose – Wood smoke and caramel
Palate – Crystallised brown sugar and crème brûlée
Finish – Mint and green tea
One of the co-founders was born in Edinburgh and set up the company HQ in the city due to its importance for national and international trade. Edinburgh is a centre for trade with air, sea, road and rail links to almost anywhere. This also helps bring the many visitors to the city who are keen to learn about whisky. There are many places to learn about Scotch whisky around Edinburgh including here at the Scotch Whisky Experience on the Royal Mile.