By the late nineteenth century, Leith was one of the most intensely industrialised districts in Scotland, its streets humming with hundreds of sailors, coopers, maltsters, warehousemen and excisemen.

At its peak, the port contained over twenty bonded warehouses, at least half a dozen working distilleries, and dozens of whisky blenders, merchants and spirit brokers, many clustered around Commercial Street, Constitution Street and the Shore. Vast quantities of whisky were matured here for export, while wine flowed in from Bordeaux and Spain, often exchanged for coal and fish. Beyond the legal trade, Leith was notorious for hundreds of illicit stills hidden in closes, yards and cellars, quietly supplying a thirsty city uphill.

Today, after decades of decline, that long relationship with drink has been rediscovered — and rebranded. A new generation of distillers and brewers has returned production to the waterfront, blending heritage with the kind of craft authenticity that looks good on a tote bag. In the interests of The Leither, I gathered a few friends and set out on foot to investigate.

We begin beside Ocean Terminal at the Port of Leith Distillery, a striking new landmark on the waterfront. I order my first drink – a gin and tonic - and admire the view over the water. Opened in 2023, it is the UK’s first vertical whisky distillery — nine storeys high on a tight dockside plot, because there was no room to sprawl outward like a normal distillery.

The building was conceived by Edinburgh friends Paddy Fletcher (an accountant) and Ian Stirling (a wine merchant), who spent a decade raising the £12 million needed to realise what they once called a pipe-dream over a dram in a London whisky bar. The design uses gravity to move production downward through the floors — milling at the top, distillation below, and a rooftop bar at the top so that visitors can admire the view while they wait for the whisky that won’t legally exist until 2027 at the earliest. Scotch must mature for at least three years, and production only began in January 2024.

In the meantime, the distillery’s reputation rests on Lind & Lime Gin, produced at a separate Leith stillhouse since 2018. Crisp and dry, with juniper, fresh lime peel and pink peppercorn, it pays tribute to Dr James Lind — born in Edinburgh in 1716 — who was involved in the discovery that citrus cured scurvy. The bottle is shaped like a wine bottle, a nod to Leith’s glass-manufacturing past.

I’m tempted to have another drink but I have work to do, so I round my gang and walk for ten minutes along Ocean Drive to our next stop – Moonwake.

Moonwake Beer Co., located just off the Shore on Tower Street, was founded in 2021 by Vinny Rosario (head brewer, from New Zealand) and Fin Heslop (director, from the UK). They moved in to their unit in January 2020, then spent much of that year painting murals and doing demolition themselves while waiting for their brew kit to arrive.

The taproom, decorated with bold geometric murals, is welcoming without trying too hard. When we get there, the early evening crowd are in – a mix of after work drinkers and young tourists who are venturing into Leith in ever greater numbers since the tram arrived. We go for the Nelson IPA and Milk Stout and they are excellent. The taproom also hosts regular events which means the new breweries are not just selling beer, but becoming community spaces – something the Government should think more about as taxes are forcing more pubs to close than ever before.

Continuing along the Shore, daytime walkers may want to pause at a welcome interloper: the Isle of Skye Distillers’ Shore shop, bringing a taste of the Hebrides to EH6. Founded in 2016, the company is best known for Misty Isle Gin, infused with bog myrtle and heather. Their first single malt, Eilean A’ Cheò (“Island of Mist”), was planned to begin production on Skye in 2025, distilled using water from the Storr Lochs. The Leith shop is a convenient place to sample island-inspired spirits without the three-hour drive.

Crossing the bridge and heading down Commercial Street, our motley crew arrive at Teuchters Landing. This busy pub is a long-standing Leith favourite with a vast whisky selection and a strong commitment to Scottish beer on tap — often including Pilot IPA from Leith’s own Pilot Brewery, which has been producing great beer since 2014. The Pilot brewery is unfortunately a mile south of the route we are on today, so we don’t plan to visit it – forced instead just to drink its produce. Teuchters is the sensible place to sample them without the detour. With a floating pontoon and one of the city’s best beer gardens, it is also simply a very good pub. I have a pint of Pilot and a dram of whisky.

Now in need of a little fresh air, my party heads along Dock Street and Coburg Street to pay homage to the Lind & Lime Gin Distillery itself — the original stillhouse that predates the Port of Leith tower. We are too late for the daytime tours, but these are worth it and include a welcome G&T, a look at the copper stills, hands-on bottling of your own miniature, and a cocktail-making session. There are also port and sherry tastings that are a reminder fortified wines once flowed through this district in qwuantities that would make the current generation’s enthusiasm look restrained.

Retracing our steps via Sandport Place and Henderson Street, we reach The Vaults, home of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. One of our group is a member, so we go inside and admire the building. It dates back to at least the twelfth century, with the current structure completed around 1787, and the vaulted cellars still contain the rare cellar fungus found only in the oldest wine stores of Europe — brought over, apparently, with the claret from Bordeaux, exchanged here for coal and fish.

Since 1983, The Vaults has been the Society’s spiritual home, offering members access to single-cask whiskies bottled straight from the barrel at cask strength. I have another dram and could easily have a wee nap in one of the chairs, but I have serious work to do…

The chilly winter air revived our little band as we headed along Great Junction Street to Jane Street, which has quietly become the heart of Leith’s modern brewing scene. First stop: Newbarns Brewery, established in 2019 by four founders who came south from the London craft scene — Gordon McKenzie and Emma McIntosh from The Kernel, and Jonny Hamilton and Freddie Bjerkseth from Beavertown. Three of the four are Scots returning home. The pandemic delayed their opening but also forced a certain resourcefulness; they built the taproom largely themselves.

The result is warm and relaxed — pool table, outdoor seating. I go for a half of the Lothian Lager (ok…a pint) and my friends opt for the pale ales. This taproom has a friendly atmosphere but no time to delay….

A short walk down Jane Street brings us to Campervan Brewery. Paul Gibson opened it in Leith in 2017, having spent several years before that brewing in his garage and in the back of Olive, a 1973 VW campervan. The backstory involves serious illness in his family and a reassessment of priorities — a reminder that if life gives you lemons you can make it into…well, lemonade. Today’s not the day for lemonade so I go for an Off-Piste Pale Ale, a sensibly low-alcohol pale that feels wise at this stage of the evening. My friend Tony goes for a half of Extra Black, their smooth gluten-free nitro porter. Campervan recently upgraded its brewhouse and has announced plans for brewery tours, underlining how seriously these once-small operations are now taken.

Last stop is fish and chips at Guido’s at the Foot of the Walk where we talk about how Lieth is changing. Whilst gentrification has reshaped the area, today’s breweries and distilleries remain small-scale industries, providing many skilled jobs and creating taprooms that double as community spaces. They are also, it should be said, very good places to spend a cold winter evening.

Ed’s tip: Luckily you can find them all at Cornelius!!!