Whisky tasting: Holyrood Pitch

I have a Pitch for you…

This is the latest flavour-forward experiment from the fun-loving, boundary-pushing whisky makers at Holyrood Distillery.

The Edinburgh outfit has built its reputation around “What if…?” distillations, and Pitch is no different. This single malt uses both brewer’s and distiller’s malts and is fermented using two red wine yeast strains alongside traditional distiller’s yeast, with maturation taking place in Oloroso sherry casks.

This combination of ingredients has produced something genuinely interesting — a whisky that inspires curiosity and demands attention.

From the first nose it’s bold and complex, with aromas of caramelised banana, semi-sweet chocolate chips, tart blackcurrants, sour-apple sweets, orange peel, soy sauce and blue cheese. Twiglets come first on the palate, followed by Ferrero Rocher, blackcurrant pastilles, powdered ginger, orange jelly cubes and cooked peaches. The finish is dominated by hazelnuts, with cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles and dried cranberry.

With its funky hints and heavy malt character, Pitch will be a crowd-splitter. But in terms of what Holyrood stands for, and what the whisky community has come to expect from the distillery, this is pitched brilliantly: it’s bold, flavourful, and accessibly experimental.