new make
test. learn.
improve. repeat.
Our New Make encapsulates our iterative approach to production and why we use heritage and specialty malts, brewer’s, wine and specialty yeasts. Our New Make exhibits unique flavours, giving drinkers the opportunity to understand how flavour is created during our Scotch Whisky production process, before any cask influence.
“Know your ferm and you’ll know your new make. You have to take the time to really get to grips with where you want to go fermentation wise. The same applies when changing up the mash bill, and knowing what each malt is going to bring to the party. The variety of our released new makes reflects that time taken.”
senior distiller
providing drinkers with
full transparency
Each label on our New Make bottles outlines our recipe and process from start to finish, allowing for full transparency and greater understanding of our approach to flavour building.
brewer's series
brewer's x distiller's yeast
brewer's series
brewer's x distiller's yeast
Maltster
Crisp
malt
Pot Still Distiller's Malt
yeast 1
Distiller's Yeast: M Strain
yeast 2
Brewer's Yeast: US05
original gravity
1.06
final gravity
0.9967
wash abv
8.12%
Fermentation time
111.5 hours
on spirit
76.30%
off spirit
62.50%
new make
brewer's series
aged new make
brewer's series
The Aged New Make series is a chance to further explore how classic brewing yeasts and heritage barley varieties evolve during the maturation process. The Belgian Ale Yeast has delightful fruity flavours that are complemented by the dark character of the Port cask, while the American Ale Yeast has that bold citrus punch we all enjoy in IPA beers combined with the hallmark vanilla notes from bourbon casks. Our championing of unique malts is shown with the fruity and juicy Plumage Archer and the rich biscuit notes of Maris Otter.
Our American Ale Yeast Aged New Make was the highest scoring in its category at the IWSC.
new make
bierbrauer's series
new make
bub project
As we continue to explore Scotch Whisky’s past for flavour inspiration, we encounter new paths of discovery. Holyrood undertook the challenge of creating Bub after being approached by Dave Broom and Arthur Motely who had discovered it in J. Macdonald’s ‘The Maltster, Distiller, and Spirit Dealer’s Companion’ published in 1828 . It was a rare opportunity for the distillery to recreate a piece of Scotch Whisky tradition, a spirit that hasn’t been created for over a century.
new make
world whisky day
new make
holyrood x pilot
Made in collaboration with Pilot Brewery, this New Make follows one of Pilot’s brewing recipes. It compliments our focus on creating flavour in the brewing stage of production, and is another example of cross category knowledge sharing to create unique styles while utilising traditional methods of Scotch Whisky production.
OUR PROCESS
Heritage Malts,
Specialty Malts,
& Yeast
Each label on our New Make bottles outlines our recipe and process from start to finish, allowing for full transparency and greater understanding of our flavour building approach.
Specialty malts form our second building block of flavour. The brewing industry has long used malt roasting to create the baseline flavours to make up the main body of their beers’ characters. In creating our whisky we have employed the same methodology, using specialty malts to build the tone of our spirit, from which we can build further layers of flavour during fermentation.
Our third building block of flavour is our use of brewer’s and specialty yeast. Traditionally distilleries used a combination of distiller’s yeast and brewer’s yeast strains which were often obtained locally, as a method of propagating flavour. The Scotch Whisky industry has since moved towards strains that have provided a greater yield, and brewer’s yeast has almost been totally phased out of today’s Scotch Whisky production. Instead, other stages of the production process, have become the focus of creating flavour. At Holyrood we are re-examining brewer’s and speciality yeasts to use them as a means of creating unique flavours once again.
- All
- Specialty Malt
- Heritage Malt
- Brewer's Yeast
- Distiller's Yeast
Sigmund Kveik Ale Yeast
Brewer’s Yeast Sigmund Kveik Ale Yeast Traditionally used in the production of Read More
S-04 Yeast
Brewer’s Yeast s-04 yeast Traditionally used in English and American ales delivering Read More
Pinnacle MG+
Distiller’s Yeast Pinnacle MG+ Tailored for the production of whisky, Pinnacle MG+ Read More
Crystal Malts Explained
Crystal Malt is a type of malted barley traditionally used in the Read More
Amber Malt
Specialty Malt Amber Malt As its name suggests, Amber Malt exhibits a Read More
Dark Munich Malt
Specialty Malt Dark Munich Malt As its name suggests, Dark Munich Malt Read More
Biscuit Malt
Specialty Malt Biscuit Malt Biscuit malt is a roasted malt with a Read More
shop all
NEW MAKE
brewing heart,
whisky soul
“We’re revisiting what was once common place in Scotch Whisky distilleries; putting our brewing recipe at the heart of our whisky making process. At Holyrood, we put just as much emphasis on the malt and yeast as we do on our cask selection, as we believe all three of these aspects contribute to creating unique and exciting flavour..
Casks will always play a large part in whisky, but we believe that heritage barley, speciality malts, brewer’s and speciality yeasts, are our building blocks of flavour, which we can build on when our spirit enters the cask.”
We Test, Learn, Improve, Repeat
We are continually discovering more heritage barley varieties that were once part of Edinburgh’s rich brewing heritage and giving them a new purpose:
- Plumage Archer
- Chevalier
- Golden Promise
- Maris Otter
By introducing speciality malts into the distilling process we impart new and unique flavours to our spirits, with nearly all of them still used in brewing today:
- Chocolate Malt
- Crystal Malt (150:light/ 240: Medium/ 400:Dark)
- Brown Malt
- Vienna Malt
- Black Malt
- Biscuit Malt
- Light and Dark Munich Malt
- Amber Malt
- Caramalt
- Cara Gold
- Dextrin
- Chit
Just like our choice of malts, yeast strains offer another avenue of flavour creation. To date, we have used brewer’s, distiller’s, wine and even sake yeast strains:
- Pinnacle M/MG+
- DY379
- DY502
- Edinburgh Ale Yeast (EAY)
- Hefeweizen
- S-04
- US-05
- Kviek Ale (Sigmund)
- S-33
- Brux (like) Trois
- Fresh Nottingham Ale yeast
- N379 (Belgian)
- Tetley 70
- Sherry flor
- Pepenero
- Toronero
- BP725 (Bordeaux)
- MaurivinPDM (Champagne)
- MaurivinB (Burgundy)
- Mirtillo Rosso
- Bollicine champagne
- tropical sym wine yeast
- rose wine yeast
- passion fruit wine yeast
- apple/pear wine yeast
- Grand zin
- BC10 Bayanus
- le more yeast
- Pinnacle S (Rum)
- Black Death Yeast
- Sake
- Heff 4
Our New Make Spirit
Discover our New Make Series
BREWER’S X DISTILLER’S YEAST
Crystal Malt
Chocolate Malt
Made By Edinburgh
Shop New Make Series
FAQ's
New Make is the first stage of making whisky, and comes straight off of the still. It is unaged and so cannot legally be called Scotch Whisky, but it is the spirit that is put into our barrels for maturation, to become Holyrood’s future whisky. Our New Makes offer whisky drinkers the opportunity to experience how flavour is created before any cask influence.
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Other Brands
A new take on vodka inspired by Edinburgh’s brewing past, we create Charmed Circle with heritage barley varieties; Chevalier and Golden Promise, showcasing each of their unique characteristics.