The Electric Spirit Co
Tower Street
Leith
History – The brand was created in 2017 by photographer, designer and distiller James Porteous who after completing a Masters Degree in distillation at Edinburgh’s Heriot-Watt University decided he wanted his own spirit that would stand out from all the others. A combination of a passion for the bar industry and a love for design led to the creation of Achroous, their signature gin. The name bizarrely comes from ancient Greeks and means “colourless" which will blow your mind when you see fluorescent, luminous and vibrant red bottle the gin lives in. As far a stand out on a shop shovel or a bar it is impossible to miss this. Luckily its not just for show as the liquid inside is excellent.
The Spirit – The Achroous gin combines Juniper, Coriander, Orris, Liquorice, Angelica, Fennel Seed, Sichuan Peppercorns in its recipe of botanicals. There are a lot of gin’s out there at the moment, i know this first hand after judging 35 of them for a recent awards. I can safely say though that Achroous is one of the good ones, in fact its a belter. It makes a great G&T and also works well in cocktails such as a classic Negroni. They also released a limited edition gin In partnership with top brand builders The Leith Agency. They created just 200 bottles of gin and called it “Not Another Effing Gin” as a joke to the response most bars give when a new gin brand comes through theirs doors.
Why Visit? – Unfortunately i believe the distillery is not opened to the public but do sometimes host masterclasses to people so keep your eyes pealed. The new premisses however when opened, will be, and it promises to be epic.
Interesting fact – At the moment The Electric Spirit Co. create their brands at The Tower Street Stillhouse but there are big plans happening to build a new Port of Leith Distillery. These plans look amazing with a vertical distillery with panoramic views over the capital, Leith and its iconic harbour. You will also find to other amazing Scottish brands being produced from here in the shape of Lind & Lime Gin and Port of Leith Distillery Sherry. Yes a Sherry, which in my option is a genius move as this is a category which believe it or not is starting to become cool again. With planning permission now approved, work has begun on the project with an opening date in Autumn 2020.
Geek Alert - The Port of Leith Distillery will Scotland’s first ever vertical distillery, with a 40-metre distillery tower with a gravity-led layout which will improve efficiency, similar to the design of the Mackmyra distillery in Sweden. The various stages of the whisky-making process will be laid out from top to bottom. From the drawing and plans I have seen this will be an amazing building and one of the most innovative distilleries in Scotland.
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