Leith-based blenders Woven Whisky are set to unveil the first element of a major new whisky destination in Edinburgh when they launch a hands-on blending experience next month.

Woven will open their blending site in 2027, but the first phase of its development will take place from June 1st. The award-winning whisky producer’s Blending Rooms experience will offer guests the opportunity to blend and bottle their own whisky as part of an immersive, two hour session designed for groups of six to eight people.

The blending experience makes up part of the firm’s wider expansion plans. Scheduled to open next year at Brown’s of Leith in Edinburgh, the completed facility will become the new home for the Woven brand.

Over two floors, the site will house Woven’s blending operations, and will also feature a dedicated visitor centre, public blending rooms, a tasting space, and a lounge bar.

Woven’s co-founder and whisky maker, Peter Allison, said: “For us, this step forward is much bigger than launching a new whisky experience. We want to help build a new future for Scotch whisky in Leith, the place where it first went out to the world.

“Leith was once the beating heart of the whisky industry, but over time, blending became something hidden behind closed doors.”

Allison will lead the blending sessions as part of the experience, giving guests the opportunity to learn from one of the industry’s leading blenders.

Following an introductory Highball at the speciality bar Haze, attendees will then be led to the Blending Rooms to nose and taste samples from Woven’s flavour library. Guests can then experiment and craft their own blend before bottling, labelling and taking home a 100ml bottle of their creation. And if you fall in love with your own concoction, there’s also the option to order larger batches once the experience is finished.

The session concludes with a farewell cocktail.

Speaking on the experience, Allison added: “This experience is for the makers. Whether it’s amateur experiments in coffee, making pizza at home or a long-term relationship with sourdough, the best thing about any craft is rolling up your sleeves and getting stuck in – and that’s what we want to offer in whisky…

“By putting the blending process in the hands of novices and proving they can build incredible whisky, we are hoping to break down the barriers the industry has built around its craft.”

The experience will cost £55 per person and you can register your interest on Women’s website.

As Allison said, the Leith area of Edinburgh once played a significant part of Scotland’s whisky industry as a key port and the home of a number of blenders. However, whisky making - particularly blending - moved away from Scotland’s capital over time.

It has been said that Woven’s Blending Rooms will be the largest investment in whisky blending infrastructure in Leith since the area’s heyday in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Allison concludes: “By the time the full facility opens in 2027, we hope it becomes a place where anyone can come and experience the future of whisky being built in Leith in real time.”

This isn’t Woven’s first foray into creating a whisky experience focussed on blending. The firm opened a studio in London in 2024 that served as a blending space by day and event space in the evenings.

Check out our previous article “Leith Based Blender Opens London Studio” for more information.

Bevvy’s Laurie Black was lucky enough to share a dram and chat all things Woven with Peter Allison recently - check out the video below.