Single Malt Red Wine Yeast Cask No
⏳ Drinking Window
Ready to enjoy upon release; does not mature further in bottle but will keep indefinitely when stored correctly.
🍽️ Food & Wine Pairings
dark chocolate, blue cheese, roasted venison
✨ Technical Specifications
Holyrood Distillery, located in the heart of Edinburgh's historic distilling district, is celebrated for its avant-garde approach to single malt production. Rejecting the rigid conventions of traditional Scotch whisky, Holyrood frequently experiments with specialty malts and non-traditional yeast strains. This particular expression showcases their innovative spirit by utilizing a red wine yeast strain during fermentation, rather than standard distiller's yeast. This choice imparts a distinct fruit-forward complexity, unique ester profile, and subtle vinous character to the spirit, which is then matured in selected casks. The result is a fascinating bridge between the worlds of winemaking and distilling, capturing the creative renaissance of modern Lowland spirits.
🍾 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.