New Arrival of the Week: Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24

Our New Arrival of the Week is Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24. This is exciting because a) new whisky; b) we love a bit of Holyrood; c) it’s the brand’s first heavily peated whisky release; and d) we’re the only retailer that has this beauty.

Holyrood Distillery: among whisky pioneers

Holyrood Distillery, for those who don’t know, is a spirits maker located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Established in 2019, it was the first single malt distillery in Edinburgh for nearly a century. It doesn’t just produce single malts but a range of exciting new makes that gave folks a mighty glimpse into its bright future as well as a variety of gin and liqueurs.

This is one of those modern-creativity-meets-traditional-methods hubs that have been popping up in the whisky world in the last decade, all of them helping to move the dial in quality and craft by doing their damned best to drive as much flavour as possible in every stage of production. 

It just makes sense when you think about it. 1) flavour = good; and 2) when you’re launching a young whisky, you can’t simply rely on the cask to do its thing, it doesn’t have enough time. By zoning in on barley provenance and varieties, lengthening fermentations, experimenting with yeast varieties, going back to worm tubs or direct-fire stills, and/or introducing contrasting cask types you’re creating a young whisky that shows enough, not least that age isn’t everything. 

“Holy Holyrood, Batman!”

Calum Rae, distillery manager for Holyrood, says that this approach has helped the Edinburgh engineers of spirits and such to stand apart from the crowd. “We’re focused on aspects of production that’s not usually at the forefront of Scotch single malt whisky. We’ve taken a lot of inspiration from both world whisky and world brewing, exploring how they approach production and how we can adapt it,” Rae explains. “We focus on aspects of production that aren’t simply wood and maturation, we trial all the types of yeast that we can get access to, as well as speciality brewing malts and heritage varieties. These all help us to differentiate ourselves from a primarily cask-focused approach”.

He concedes that, like with anything worth doing, there’s been lots of trial and error, but Holyrood has a mantra: test, learn, improve, repeat. “That’s driven everything that we do. If you’ve been to our distillery before, you’ll see it written on the wall for all to see. It’s neon, so it’s hard to miss,” Rae says. “Don’t get me wrong we’ve had lots of successes, and we’ve had plenty of failures, but that’s what happens when you push the boundaries, using yeasts and malts that have never been designed for whisky production! It’s all part of who we are”. 

So, where does Holyrood go from here? “The future for us is focused on refinement. Slowly reducing the number of recipes that we do without reducing the focus on creating interesting and complex flavours at every stage of production. We’re really excited about some of the whiskies we’ve got coming,” Rae summarises.

The whisky: Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24

Speaking of exciting whiskies, that brings us neatly to Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24. Here are the deets: it’s a single malt made from heavily peated barley that was fermented with Nottingham Ale yeast, as well as DY502 and DY379 distiller’s yeast. It was then aged in a single bourbon barrel and filled into just 222 bottles at 61.6% ABV, un-chill-filtered, with no added sugar, artificial colour, or artificial flavour.

Why the heavy peat? Rae explains: “Edinburgh has a unique relationship with smoke, and with this, our first heavily peated whisky release, and we wanted it to evoke a real sense of place. We chose Highland peated malt rather than Islay peated malt because it was lighter, and resembled the aromas of wood and coal smoke you’d have experienced in Auld Reekie (an old nickname for Edinburgh), when the breweries and distilleries were fed by coal fires and the beachside bonfires we enjoy in the summer months”.

As for the yeast, this whisky was made primarily using Nottingham Ale Yeast (90%) and a small proportion of two distiller’s strains (10%). Rae describes the Nottingham Ale Yeast as a brewer’s yeast that is surprisingly well-suited to distilling. “It can withstand the harsh conditions of a whisky fermentation. Compared to a lot of other brewing yeasts we have used, Nottingham Ale Yeast creates a very low concentration of esters. This means less unique fruity flavours, and thus fewer distractions from the main event, the smoky flavours in the mash”. He says Holyrood describes Nottingham Ale Yeast as the “silent hero of this recipe”, because it protects all those deep and earthy peat flavours through fermentation, allowing them to develop and shine through.

That’s also the reason Holyrood chose a bourbon barrel to age the whisky in. This cask type shines when you want to focus the attention on other elements, as it matures and refines the spirit without dominating it too much. The smoke in Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24 shines through without too much influence from the wood, as intended. 

Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24 review:

Has all this hard work paid off? I’d say so. This is a whisky that hits the mark it wants to hit. It’s robust and hearty with smoke and has a coastal freshness throughout, with vanilla-laden freshly baked goods demonstrating cask influence and plenty of bright, fruity elements. The texture has a nice waxy quality too that coats the palate and there’s a nice charred edge to it all, like smoky wood and grilled meats. 

Rae calls it, “A perfect representation of Edinburgh’s geographical positioning”. He adds that it combines “the idea of the historic smoke of the city, Auld Reekie, with its coastal nature. Think of beachside fires on a long summer night”.

Lovely stuff. There’s a full tasting note below and you can buy Holyrood Distillery Single Cask #24 now by clicking the link.

Nose: The smoky, earthy character of burnt driftwood and seaside bonfires follows a warm wave of vanilla. Crisp notes of green apples and pears emerge in the background.

Palate: More sweet orchard fruits balance salted crackers. Gentle notes of honey and subtle spice develop while the coastal influence from the nose carries through. There’s also a peppery heat that gradually gives way to smoky BBQ notes.

Finish: The finish is long and evolving, with robust smoke and woodiness, like fresh sawdust from a workshop. The final notes are dry and slightly tannic, leaving a faint hint of seaside smoke.

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