New Make Chocolate Malt
⏳ Drinking Window
Designed to be enjoyed immediately upon release, this high-strength spirit does not require aging and will remain stable indefinitely when stored properly.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
Dark chocolate desserts, blue cheese, smoked meats
✨ Technical Specifications
Representing a bold bridge between the worlds of craft brewing and traditional distilling, Holyrood's New Make Chocolate Malt is a pioneering unaged spirit from Edinburgh. This expression pays homage to the city's rich brewing history, particularly the legendary 'Charmed Circle' of breweries that once dominated the local landscape. By utilizing heavily roasted chocolate malt—a specialty grain typically reserved for dark beers like stouts and porters—alongside traditional distilling malt, Holyrood coaxes out deep, roasted characteristics directly from the mash. The resulting distillate bypasses the barrel entirely, offering an intense, unadulterated exploration of grain character, defined by notes of dark cacao, espresso beans, and caramelized sugars. It stands as a testament to modern Lowland innovation, challenging the conventional boundaries of spirit production.
🍾 About the Producer
Established in 2019 by Rob and Kelly Carpenter alongside former Macallan master distiller David Robertson, Holyrood Distillery marked the return of single malt whisky distillation to central Edinburgh after nearly a century of absence. Housed within a restored 1830s railway goods shed beneath Arthur's Seat in the Lowlands, Holyrood operates with an innovative, flavor-first distilling ethos deeply informed by Edinburgh's historic brewing heritage. Rather than conforming to traditional regional conventions, the distillery experiments extensively with diverse malt varieties—including heirloom, chocolate, and crystal barleys—along with an array of specialty brewing, wine, and sake yeast strains. Utilizing washbacks with extended fermentations and tall copper pot stills, Holyrood captures distinct ester and phenolic profiles before aging spirit in meticulously selected casks. Benchmark expressions include their inaugural single malts Arrival, Ambir, and Embra, alongside singular single-cask trials showcasing red wine, sake yeast, and peated variants.
🍷 ABV
60%