Holyrood Distillery Whisky and Gin Tour Edinburgh's First Malt

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Free cancellationTravelers' pick

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Duration1h

GroupUp to 22

LanguagesEN

Mobile ticketAccepted

Walk through working stills and taste what you watched being made

Holyrood Distillery's whisky and gin tour in Edinburgh pairs a guided walk through the working distillery with a seasonal cocktail, samples of single malt whisky and award-winning gin, and a tutored tasting that explains how oak barrels shape flavour. The tour runs about an hour with a live English-speaking guide, and children from age 8 are welcome.

Step-by-step itinerary

Holyrood Distillery tour and tasting

Arrive at Holyrood Distillery
Enjoy a seasonal cocktail welcome
Learn about distillery history
Watch whisky production process
Discover gin making with 3 ingredients
Taste classic single malt whisky
Participate in tutored whisky tasting
Explore oak barrel flavour creation

The Experience

Holyrood Distillery sits in the heart of Edinburgh as the city's first single malt distillery in over a hundred years. Your guide meets you with a seasonal cocktail and walks you through the distillery floor where you watch the washbacks foaming and the copper stills bubbling—the actual stages of scotch production happening in front of you. This is not a museum display; it is the working space where the whisky is made.

The tasting part of the tour moves through two spirits. You'll sample Holyrood's classic single malt expression alongside their Height of Arrows Gin, which uses just three ingredients and has won awards. Your guide explains how the same distillery ethos—heritage malts, specialty yeasts, alternative approaches to flavour—shapes both the whisky and the gin. The gin section shows you how they apply whisky-making methods to a different spirit entirely.

The tutored whisky tasting goes deeper into how flavour gets built. Your guide walks you through Holyrood's selection of seasoned oak barrels from around the world and what each one contributes to the final taste. You taste the whisky knowing now what you saw on the distillery floor and understanding the barrel choices that shaped what's in your glass.

What’s included

Seasonal cocktail on arrival.
guided tour of the working distillery with a live English-speaking guide.
sample of Holyrood's classic single malt whisky.
sample of Height of Arrows Gin.
tutored tasting that explains how oak barrels shape flavour.

Good to know

Easy physical levelWheelchair accessibleAccessible transportStroller friendlyPets welcomePublic transport nearby

Operated by Holyrood Distillery

Is this one for you?Most distillery tours in Edinburgh are heritage sites or visitor attractions built around the building itself; Holyrood puts you on the working floor where the stills are actually running and the whisky is being made, so the tasting at the end connects to what you watched happen.