Edinburgh gin distilleries Holyrood Distillery and Edinburgh Gin Distillery rated among the best in the UK in top 10 list

Two Edinburgh gin distilleries have been named among the best in the UK, with research placing them in the top 10 gin distilleries to visit in the country.

G&T enthusiasts in Edinburgh needn’t look far for a distillery tour, as new research has revealed that Edinburgh Gin Distillery and Holyrood Distillery are the third and fourth best gin distilleries in the UK according to visitors. The research by South Western Railway was carried out between February, 2019 and January, 2023, analysing Google reviews, TikTok views, Instagram hashtags and Google searches to award each distillery a score out of 100.

Gin and tonic has fast become one of the nation’s favourite drinks and the so-called ‘gin-aissance’ shows no signs of slowing down, with Google searches for the term ‘gin distillery’ growing by 39 per cent from 2019-2023 in the UK.

Bombay Sapphire Distillery in Hampshire was named the best distillery in the UK to visit, with a score of 87, after it received 2,146 five-star reviews on Google, 78 per cent of all reviews. It also received 7,474 Instagram hashtags and 54,200 TikTok views and 487,900 Google searches from February, 2019 to January, 2023.

Edinburgh Gin Distillery came third overall on the top 10 UK gin distilleries list. It received 455 five-star reviews, the second highest on the list, which was 84 per cent of all reviews, again placing it second on the list for that part of their overall score of 41. The Rutland Place distillery also received 4,106 Instagram hashtags, 4,633 TikTok views and 215,220 Goggle searches.

Sarah Prior, brand homes head of sales an marketing at Edinburgh Gin Distillery said: “We are extremely proudly to secure our place as the third best gin distillery in the UK, topping the charts in Scotland, according to Southwest Railways. This is a testament to our passion for crafting premium gins that are filled with wonder and inspired by our home city. We would like to thank all our customers, partners and staff for their support and loyalty.”

Holyrood Distillery at St Leonard's Lane, in the shadows of Arthur’s Seat, came fourth on the UK top 10 list with an overall score of 30. It had 335 five star Google reviews, 83 per cent of all reviews, as well as 1,311 Instagram hashtags. It also received 3,156 TikTok views and 128,820 Google searches.

Holly Aynsley, PR and event manager at Holyrood Distillery said: “The team here works very hard to ensure everyone that comes here is made to feel welcome and they have a great experience. So it’s great to see visitors share their positive thoughts about us online. It’s obviously resonating with visitors here and that’s brilliant, we are very thankful for their support and kind reviews. We are thrilled to get this recognition.”

There were only two other Scottish gin distilleries in the top 10, Tobermory Distillery in fifth spot and Stirling Distillery which was 10th in the list compiled by South Western Railway.