Port of Leith Distillery Tour

The Port of Leith Distillery is a working whisky distillery in Leith, and its tour and tasting is one of the highest-rated spirits experiences in the city, with a 4.9 rating from more than 1,500 visitors. What sets the distillery apart is its design: it is built vertically, with production stacked up through the building, which the booking page describes as unusual and which gives the tour a different feel from the traditional spread-out distillery. The experience lasts about ninety minutes and begins on level six, the retail level, where you meet your guide. The tour takes you through the process of making whisky, with a chance to ask questions along the way, and it ends with a tasting of a range of spirits that includes port, sherry and whisky. You also get to fill your own miniature bottle, which makes a good souvenir. The distillery is on Whisky Quay in Leith, a short trip from the centre and a good excuse to see the port district that has become one of Edinburgh's best places to eat and drink. It is a more modern, design-led visit than the heritage tours on the Royal Mile, and a good complement to them, because here you see real production and not only a story about it.

Practical details matter on this tour. All tours start on Level 6, so arrive ten minutes early. The tour runs through a production area with open grate flooring, so wear sensible shoes, and high heels, cleated cycling shoes and open-toe shoes are not allowed. The distillery advises caution for anyone with a heart condition, high blood pressure or a balance impairment.

Groups are limited to twenty. Children aged seven to seventeen can join with an adult, while children under seven are not allowed. Tours are in English, with printed or QR scripts available in several other languages and a Braille and large-print script for those who need it. The tour is wheelchair accessible and service animals are allowed. Access to the Distillery Bar is not included and is booked separately.

The tasting is part of what makes the experience good value. Alongside whisky, you taste port and sherry, which are the types of cask that give many Scotch whiskies their colour and flavour, so the tasting explains something about production as well as flavour. If you have already done a whisky tasting on the Royal Mile, this adds a different angle: you see how the spirit is actually made, in a building designed for it.

Time slots run from late morning into the evening, and available start times are chosen at checkout, so you can fit the tour around a day of sightseeing, but popular times fill up, especially at weekends and in summer.

Make an afternoon of Leith. Take the tram or a bus down from the centre, do the tour, then walk to the Shore for a late lunch or early dinner at one of the seafood restaurants or pubs. If you want more of the port, the Royal Yacht Britannia is at Ocean Terminal nearby, and a gin tasting at Lind and Lime is a short walk away, so a spirits day in Leith is easy to build.

The tour is good for couples, friends and curious families with older children. It is also a reliable wet-weather activity, because most of it is indoors. As always with a tasting, eat beforehand and plan your transport so that nobody needs to drive afterwards.