New gin distillery aims to attract thousands of visitors
LEITH gin distiller Lind & Lime hopes to welcome 10,000 visitors a year through the doors of its new distillery.
In addition to producing Lind & Lime, the new facility, on Coburg Street, will offer tours that incorporate tastings, bottle filling and cocktail making.
Tours will run Thursday to Saturday every week, with bookings through the brand’s website.
Founders Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher – who are also in the process of constructing the nearby Port of Leith whisky distillery, due for completion later this year – have said they intend to make the Lind & Lime brand as environmentally-friendly as possible.
As well as using 100% organic ingredients and plastic-free packaging materials for the gin itself, the new distillery is powered using 100% green energy. The founders say the new distillery will allow them to increase production capacity to over a million bottles a year.
“Lind & Lime’s journey began in a small industrial unit on Tower Street in 2018 with the sole aim of creating a benchmark classic style of gin,” said Stirling.
“Since launching, our feet have barely touched the ground and we have struggled to meet demand.
“We now export to 24 international markets and we are incredibly excited to be expanding distribution to the USA later this year. We’d been searching for a larger facility for some time, and we were incredibly fortunate to secure the former Sports Warehouse on Coburg Street.
“Keeping production and bottling in Leith was incredibly important to us.”
Lind & Lime takes its name from the work of Edinburgh-educated Dr James Lind, who conducted some of the first clinical trials observing that citrus fruit helped to prevent scurvy among sailors.
“Over the years we’ve seen the resurrection of Leith to a bustling neighbourhood and foodie hotspot,” said visitor experience manager, Tamsin Job.
“Lind & Lime’s new distillery and visitor experience is just a stone’s throw away from the Shore of Leith, home to the likes of Fingal, The Granary and Restaurant Martin Wishart. Our tour begins with a welcome Lind & Lime gin and tonic as we start sharing stories of Dr James Lind, known for his pioneering work investigating a cure for scurvy.
“We’ll chat about our blend of organic botanicals and then run through the gin distillation process while sharing the stories of how we perfected our recipe.
“Guests are able to try their hand at bottling their own Lind & Lime miniature and then shake up the perfect Gimlet.”
