Elizabeth Yard | Holyrood Distillery

Welcome to Elizabeth Yard

We are whisky makers that geek out on rum. Grand Arôme. Wedderburn. Dunder. Rum has swagger that we can’t get enough of. Our whisky bond was once a naval rum store so naturally we sourced rum stocks to age in our sherry and bourbon octaves. Demerara and fresh oloroso? Jamaican funk and Islay peat? Yum.

Featuring rums from some of the most prestigious producers in the world, Elizabeth Yard is where we explore maturation and cask finishes, creating and bottling truly extraordinary rums.

Welcome to Elizabeth Yard.

HM Victualling Yard

Royal Elizabeth Yard was built in 1946 in Kirkliston, West Lothian and was a Royal Naval Victualling Depot. Unit 9, where today we keep our casks, was the former rum store for the fleet’s daily rum ration. The last regulation issue of rum in the Royal Navy took place on Friday 31st July 1970. Ever since that time, Unit 9 has laid empty.

Rum Returns to The Yard

In 2021 Holyrood Distillery returned rum maturation to Elizabeth Yard by importing small parcels of rum sourced from across the rum world. The casks were shipped to Kirkliston before being disgorged and reracked into casks used for our single malt maturation program.

Diamond Distillery - Guyana

Longpond - Jamaica

Caroni - Trinidad

Savanna - Réunion Island

South Pacific - Fiji

Cask Finishing

Selected rums have been finished in casks each imparting its unique characteristics. We begin with an unfinished reference cask marked ‘REF’. This is our starting point, from which we can trace the impact of each wood used in maturation. Our finishing casks include:

Ungrogged (the Naval term for new oak) American Oak
Spanish Oak Pedro Ximinez
Red Wine Barrels

These three finishes set the rum in three different flavour directions, allowing a deep dive into the impact of maturation. With this we can examine rum through a wood program that is built with a whisky maker’s mindset.

EXPLORING CASK INFLUENCE

#REF

Unfinished

Some rums we find are tasty the way they are. If we can’t add anything to a rum by finishing it in a cask, we won’t. We’ll share these as we find them, for the delight of rum lovers seeking something extraordinary.

#2

Sherry Casks

Sherry casks are commonly used in maturation of whiskies to impart juicy red fruits and warming spices notes. Not one shoe fits all, to find differences in this space we can change which type of sherry cask we use; Pedro Ximenez, Olorosso, Palo Cortado.

#3

Red Wine Casks

Red wine casks are typically rich in tannins. Tannins impart a bitter, dry character, and can pair back our rum’s sweetness. These casks also have the rich red fruit characters of the wines they previously contained, adding rich, dark flavours.

#4

Ungrogged American Oak

Ungrogged is an archaic term for a barrel that is fresh from the cooperage and has not been used for any maturation before. Ungrogged casks enable us to explore the impact of untainted wood on the spirit, without any outside influence from previous liquid.

Our Rums

Elizabeth Yard Caroni 1997

It doesn’t get any better than this, a super rare, full-on delicious rum from the legendary, closed, Caroni Distillery.

Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery 2003

A classic heavy, oily Guyanese rum with an incredible texture.

Elizabeth Yard Longpond 2000

This 21 year old Longpond has everything you’d want from a Jamaican rum, big bold and full of funk.

Elizabeth Yard South Pacific 2004

A clean, elegant style of rum that showcases the flavours of its estate grown sugar cane.

Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery 2011 #REF

Our reference cask for our Diamond Distillery 2011.

Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery 2011 Spanish Oak PX Sherry Octave

Our second finish, PX sherry cask, imparts spiced fruit notes.

Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery 2011 Red Wine Octave

Our third finish for our Diamond Distillery 2011, with a spicy, rich quality from our red wine octave.

Elizabeth Yard Diamond Distillery #04 Ungrogged American Oak Octave

Our fourth finish for our Diamond Distillery 2011. Awarded the IWSC Rum Trophy 2022, this is a juicy, fruity and complex rum.

Elizabeth Yard Savanna #REF

This rum is from our reference cask. Rich with summer berries and spicy tannins from the red wine cask

Elizabeth Yard Savanna #2 Spanish Oak PX Sherry Octave

Our second finish for our rum from Savanna Distillery, is beautifully fruity and rich. Savanna’s typical red berry qualities marry perfectly with the flavours from sherried oak.

Elizabeth Yard Savanna Ungrogged American Oak Octave

Savanna’s rich red berry character married with mellow American Oak, wonderfully floral with warming spice.

Shop Our Rums

FAQ's

Does Holyrood make Elizabeth Yard rum?

No, Elizabeth Yard is an independent rum bottler. Our rums are distilled by other distilleries, however all cask finishing is conducted by Holyrood Distillery at our Warehouse.

Are these rums always available?

Unfortunately not, our Eizabeth Yard rums are all limited editions, once they’re gone they’re gone. But don’t worry we’re constantly sourcing more delicious rums to release!

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Other Brands

New Make

Charmed Circle

Height of Arrows

Elizabeth Yard

Our New Make Spirit showcases our whisky vision and enables whisky drinkers to fully appreciate spirit before it enters a cask. It demonstrates the influence of our iterative, holistic approach, who we are as distillers, and where we are going as whisky makers.

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.

A new approach to gin making, inspired by our whisky thinking and grounded in simplicity. Our Height of Arrows gins feature a singular botanical; juniper, with a focus on flavour and texture.

Featuring rums from some of the most prestigious rum producers in the world, Elizabeth Yard is where we geek out on rum, exploring maturation and cask finishes.

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