Bonnington Distillery — Lowland Single Malt Whisky

Bonnington Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Leith, Edinburgh, Lowland, Scotland. It was founded in 2020 and is currently owned by Halewood Artisanal Spirits, operating under its John Crabbie & Co. subsidiary. It holds the distinction of being the first single malt whisky distillery to open in Leith in nearly 100 years.

History

Bonnington Distillery traces its origins to a project begun in 2017 by Halewood, which set out to revive whisky production in Leith, the historic port district of Edinburgh long associated with the whisky trade and with the 19th-century merchant John Crabbie. Construction of the distillery on Graham Street followed, and the site was commissioned in December 2019. Production of new make spirit began in March 2020, making Bonnington one of the wave of new Lowland distilleries established in Scotland's recent distilling boom. The distillery takes its name from Bonnington House, a property in the area once used as a military headquarters during the siege of Edinburgh Castle. Water is drawn from an ancient aquifer around 147 metres below the site. The distillery was originally equipped with a 2.5-tonne mash tun and six 10,000-litre fermentation vessels; a 2023 expansion added further washbacks to support a continuous, five-day production cycle. Bonnington released its first whiskies from 2024 onward, beginning with a limited Inaugural Release matured in ruby port casks, followed by further sherry- and Muscat-cask expressions, positioning the distillery's house style around a clean, fruity, unpeated Lowland spirit alongside experimental peated releases.

Quick Facts

• Region: Lowland
• Founded: 2020
• Owner: Halewood Artisanal Spirits (John Crabbie & Co.)
• Status: Active
• Stills: 2 (1 wash still, 1 spirit still)

Core Range

Bonnington's early releases have been limited-batch expressions rather than a fixed permanent range, reflecting its recent founding. Notable releases include the Bonnington Inaugural Release Single Malt (52.3% ABV, matured in ruby port casks, 500 bottles), a Sherry Cask Release (Pedro Ximénez-matured, 250 cases), and 2025 non-peated and peated single malt expressions matured in Muscat casks (47% ABV and 51% ABV respectively). As the distillery's stock matures, a more established core range is expected to develop.