MATURATION DIVISION
Defining our approach
Leith, where we’re building our distillery, was once Scotland’s gateway to the world. It’s where wines and spirits from across Europe would arrive in barrels to be decanted into bottles, made locally at the Leith Glass Works.
It’s was also one of the few places to have a Royal Warrant for the bonding of spirits, and as such, vast quantities of Scotch Whisky were matured, blended and bottled in the warehouses that lined our shores, throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
This unique environment, where wine merchants rubbed shoulders with whisky merchants, is the reason why we enjoy so many whiskies that have matured in sherry and port casks today. It’s a practice that began in the bonded warehouses of Leith.
We want to make a whisky that represents the place in which it is made, and we began to see that port, sherry and wine casks would ground our spirit in the Port of Leith’s rich local heritage.
We intend to mature some of our spirit in casks that have previously held wines.
Sherry wines, port wines, red wines, white wines, sweet wines. wines that have been imported into leith for centuries.
Not only do these casks capture the heritage of our harbour. They are also perfectly suited to the style of whisky we want to create; a delicate, profoundly complex spirit with beguiling layers of flavour.
To find the very best casks, we began by looking for the very best products.
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BODEGAS BARON
A very old producer with a very modern outlook, Bodegas Baron produce exceptional sherry wines in the South West of Spain. Their sherry is seasoning casks that we will use to mature our whisky. But we’ve also bottled and imported the sherry itself for you to enjoy.
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Martha's Estate
A producer whose exquisite Tawny Port was going into the blends of bigger brands. We now bottle and importer their delicious wines, and have procured our first casks from them for our future spirit.