The Port of Leith Distillery

A Distillery that reaches for the Sky.

The Port of Leith Distillery (PoLD), is Scotland’s first vertical distillery. A true mixed-use waterfront destination that sets a new standard of experience and accessibility in the design of distilleries. The building embodies the ambition to present an exciting, modern face for the Scotch Whisky Industry. This innovative design has already created a symbiotic bond between architecture and the Port of Leith brand, as well as establishing itself as a new landmark in Leith and an exemplar in waterfront regeneration.

Edinburgh has an incredibly rich whisky heritage, and the Port of Leith was the epicentre of the industry. The new distillery is located right on the edge of the harbour, next to The Royal Yacht Britannia and The Ocean Terminal Centre. For centuries, Leith was Scotland’s gateway to the world; the streets here were lined with bonded warehouses where much of Scotland’s whisky was matured, blended and bottled. This project is an important move in the resurgence of distilling in this historic centre.

The nine-storey building perfectly blends its unique vertical process arrangement and gravity-led whisky production with a visitor experience like that of no other distillery. To experience Port of Leith Distillery is to flow through the building like the spirit itself, following the production process from the mash tun on the upper floors down to the gleaming copper stills at the water’s edge and completing the experience high up in the tasting rooms or roof top bar, to sip a dram and enjoy the stunning views that surround the distillery.

From the outset, the relationship at PoLD between the visitor experience and the production process has been one of equals, both central to the brief and key to delivering the client’s vision of a destination capable of accepting in excess of 150,000 visitors per annum.

The result is a building where each space is deliberate and considered. The layout of the process is logical and efficient to provide a healthy and safe working environment, but equally is curated and managed to allow visitors to flow down through the building like the whisky itself.