Halewood plans Crabbie microdistillery in Edinburgh

Halewood International has submitted proposals for a gin and malt whisky microdistillery in Edinburgh as part of plans to bring the Crabbie brand back to the city.

Halewood International is planning to bring the Crabbie brand back to Edinburgh

The UK drinks producer and distributor is seeking permission from The City of Edinburgh Council to transform a disused warehouse located on Forth Industrial Estate in Granton.

Once known for its malt and blended Scotch whiskies and green ginger wine, John Crabbie & Co is now famed for its alcoholic and non-alcoholic ginger beer.

The brand is “synonymous with the City of Edinburgh”, the planning application states, adding that it is “important” to Halewood that its gin and whisky production is located there “to capitalise upon and further develop and promote the strong Crabbie brand identity recognised domestically and overseas”.

The document continues: “There is considerable interest in new whisky and gin products at the present time and the proposed investment in premises, plant and spirit production by the applicant in Edinburgh, if supported, should bring economic and employment benefits associated with sales growth and expansion.”

The gin offering will be a “niche” produced produced in small batches, the document continues, and as such the distillery will be operated by just two part-time workers. Anticipated annual production from whisky distillation, made “mainly from barley malt”, will also be “small scale”.

The full manufacturing process for distilling whisky will be carried out at the premises, bar milling and maturation.

Gin concentrate will be shipped to Huyton bottling plant and warehouse in Liverpool, the application states, though “some… will be bottled in small quantities on site to allow launch into the Scottish market”.