Lind & Lime gin distillery

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Lind & Lime Gin Distillery
Lind & Lime logo.png
The Lind & Lime Gin Distillery entrance.jpg
The front facade of Lind & Lime Gin Distillery
Location24 Coburg St, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 6HB, Scotland, United Kingdom
Coordinates 55°58′35″N3°10′31″W / 55.9763°N 3.1752°W / 55.9763; -3.1752
OwnerMuckle Brig Ltd.
Founded28 May 2022;3 years ago (2022-05-28)
FounderIan Stirling
Paddy Fletcher
StatusOperational
Location
Lind & Lime gin distillery

Lind & Lime Gin Distillery is a distillery and tourist attraction in Leith, Edinburgh. [1]

Contents

The distillery produces the titular Lind & Lime gin, a maritime-style spirit known for its distinctive bottle. The distillery is organic certified and operates as a B-corp.

History

The distillery was co-founded by friends Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher as an extension of their drinks importer, Muckle Brig. Stirling had previously worked for Roberson Wine; Fletcher had worked in finance. [2] Gin production was initially incidental; gin was seen as a revenue stream to fund the construction of the Port of Leith whisky distillery. [3]

The first iteration of the distillery was located in an industrial unit in Tower Street, Leith; both the site and the stills were shared with rival gin producers Electric Spirit Co. [4] This site was 100sqm; it was later described by the SLTN trade newspaper as "the smallest space in which it was technically possible to distill gin". [5] [6] The first bottling of Lind & Lime gin was released in November 2018. [7]

By 2021, the gin was bringing in gross profit of £1 million, and Lind & Lime began to search for a larger production premises within Leith. [3] The chosen site, on Coburn Street, was a former sportswear warehouse, and £600,000 was invested in its renovation. [8]

The new distillery opened to the public in May 2022. [9] It was around six times larger than the previous distillery premises. [3] The site included a bottling plant and offered public tours, which were expected to attract 10,000 visitors per year. [8]

The distillery received organic food certification from the Scottish Organic Producers Association in 2023, and was B-corp accredited the following year. [6] [10] In October 2024, the distillery launched an certified organic furoshiki gift wrap, the first UK spirits brand to do so. [11]

Products

The core product from the distillery is Lind & Lime gin, a maritime-style recipe with seven botanicals including lime. The product was originally to be called "The Antidote", but the name was changed following a trademark dispute. [12]

The bottle is shaped similarly to a wine bottle as a reference to the historic wine trade occurring in the Port of Leith. [13] The company have publicly clashed with other drinks producers over purported similarities in packaging design, including with Australian gin producers SoHi, and with Scottish producers Brewdog over their Casa Reyes tequila bottle. [12] [14] [15]

The distillery diversified into ready-to-drink products in 2024 with a bottled Negroni, designed in collaboration with Edinburgh cocktail bar Hey Palu. [16] The first travel-retail exclusive product from the distillery, a bergamot flavoured gin, was released in 2025. [17]

References

  1. "The Lind & Lime Distillery – VisitScotland Travel Trade". 2 August 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2026.
  2. Whymark, Bethany (19 December 2023). "Port of Leith: Distilling Scotch from top to bottom". Whisky Magazine.
  3. 1 2 3 Newlands, Emma (20 October 2021). "The Big Interview: Ian Stirling, co-CEO and co-founder of The Port of Leith Distillery". The Scotsman.
  4. "Our People: Meet some of the team at Port of Leith Distillery, makers of Lind & Lime Gin". The Gin Cooperative. 28 September 2019.
  5. Stirling, Ian. "The Road to Coburg Street". Lind & Lime.
  6. 1 2 "Leith's Lind & Lime Gin achieves organic certification". SLTN. 24 April 2023.
  7. Kielty, Melita (27 November 2018). "Port of Leith debuts Lind and Lime Gin". The Spirits Business.
  8. 1 2 Ranscombe, Peter (26 May 2022). "Port of Leith opens its Lind & Lime gin distillery". Scottish Field.
  9. Young, Iona (28 May 2022). "First look inside Edinburgh's new Lind and Lime Gin distillery at the Shore". Edinburgh Live.
  10. "Lind & Lime Gin becomes B Corp certified". DRAM. 7 March 2024.
  11. Madsen, Miona (21 October 2024). "Lind & Lime combats packaging waste". The Spirits Business.
  12. 1 2 Walker, Peter A (3 February 2023). "Leith gin firm fights 'losing battle' against bottle copycats". Insider.co.uk.
  13. Carruthers, Nicola (4 December 2019). "Top 10 award-winning spirits bottle designs". The Spirits Business.
  14. Hohwieler, Rupert (13 February 2024). "BrewDog faces backlash over Tequila bottle". The Spirits Business.
  15. Beeson, James (12 February 2024). "BrewDog accused of 'ripping off' gin brand with new tequila". The Grocer.
  16. Hohwieler, Rupert (10 September 2024). "Lind & Lime creates RTD Negroni". The Spirits Business.
  17. Madsen, Miona (1 July 2025). "Lind & Lime unveils bergamot gin for GTR". The Spirits Business.