Buying Guides
5 min readcreative
An Edinburgh whisky tour is a guided experience that pairs the city’s history with a tasting of Scotch whisky. Most last between one and two and a half hours and cost roughly £20 to £50 per adult.
Edinburgh has a long whisky story. Leith was once the heart of Scotland’s whisky blending and bonding trade, and the Old Town was home to smugglers, blenders and merchants. Holyrood Distillery, which opened in 2019, was the first single malt distillery in central Edinburgh since Glen Sciennes closed in 1925.
Today you can choose from walking tours, bar trails, private tastings and working distilleries, all without leaving the city. This guide covers each option, what it costs and how to pick the right one.
The four main types of Edinburgh whisky tour
Most Edinburgh whisky tours fall into one of four styles: a history walk, a bar trail, a New Town tasting tour or a private tour.
1. The Old Town history walk
This is the classic choice for first-time visitors. Mercat Tours runs the best-known version, which starts at the Mercat Cross on the Royal Mile and lasts about two hours.
Your guide covers smugglers, bootleggers and blending pioneers such as George Ballantine and Andrew Usher Jr. You also hear how King James IV gave Edinburgh a whisky monopoly in the 15th century.
The tour ends underground in the candlelit Megget’s Cellar. There you taste four Scotch whiskies, one each from Speyside, the Highlands, Islay and the Lowlands.
- Groups are capped at 18 people.
- It is for adults aged 18 and over only.
- The cellar vaults are not suitable for people with reduced mobility.
- Tours run in all weather, so bring a coat and comfortable shoes.
