Sweetdram, 54 Bankhead Crossway, Edinburgh
History - Daniel Fisher and Andrew MacLeod Smith met during their masters in distilling at university in Edinburgh in 2011. They both followed their dream of working in different distilleries all over the world, including stints in France making liqueurs and in Brooklyn making spirits. After a couple of years this nomad lifestyle became a bit of a drag so they decided to move back home (well, with a short stay in Dalston, London) and start their own brand. But the pair didn’t want to come back just to start a gin distillery like everyone else, they wanted to create something unique and innovative. In 2014 they began Sweetdram, a company dedicated to producing forward-thinking products. From their workshop in London they worked with different distilleries all over the world to create liqueurs before moving back to Edinburgh to build their own distillery. Their space, along with their branding, is modern and cutting-edge in its design but it is not all just for show. Over the last few years Sweetdram have proved to be one of the most exciting distillers in Scotland winning several awards for their brands.
The Spirit - They produce three products from here. Escubac, the first thing they launched, is based on a French liqueur recipe with botanical of citrus and spice which is then infused with raisins, vanilla and saffron. Sounds like a gin right? Wrong. They don’t use juniper which means it is not a gin. Next they have a Smoked Spice Rum that is packed with flavour unlike many mainstream spiced rums. It is made with Caribbean rums, lush green botanicals, grains of paradise, lapsang souchong and warm-smoked organic figs. Lastly they have a Whisky Amaro. Amaro usually comes from Italy and is based on grape brandy and a blend of herbs and aromatics but, as usual, the Sweetdram team have rewritten the rule book by using Scotch single malt and grain casks precisely blended then infused with botanicals and local honey. Bittered, balanced and the first of its kind.
Why visit - This is not some picturesque distillery based in a garden shed somewhere. It is a 13,000-square-foot warehouse that is custom-built to carry out their objective to create amazing spirits. However, it’s a cool and modern space that will allow them to grow their brands as they get bigger. Official tours haven’t started yet but if you drop them an email I’m sure they will happily have you down for a visit.
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