Leith Export Co’s Table Whisky feels radical. Here’s why.

As a whisky writer, I am lucky to hear about many new releases. I’m sent samples of many of them. Tasting as widely as possible helps with everything from staying across what’s going on to keeping the nose and palate sharp. The vast majority of these whiskies are exciting. Usually there’s cask innovation going on, or something quirky with production. Almost certainly there’s a story going on behind it – which to a greater or lesser extent is spun-up marketing fluff. It’s rare that a bottling stops you in your tracks and even less common for one to stick in your mind like an olfactory earworm. This is what’s happened for me with one of the latest releases from Leith Export Co – the company behind Port of Leith Distillery. And even more remarkable still, it’s not for any of the reasons mentioned above.

Table Whisky crossed my desk back in November 2023. It’s a new single grain Scotch expression. It’s been matured in both new and ex-sherry casks. And it is utterly delicious. 

There’s so much dessert-like smoothness going on. It’s all red berries and double cream, Vanilla sponge cake and butter icing. Milk chocolate with a dash of ginger bread. Caramel and popcorn. And the texture is like fondant. It feels glossy. And it feels totally approachable, in the best possible way.

Table Whisky is one of my favourite drams of 2023. But even that alone isn’t why it’s stuck around in my mind. 

The packaging is a huge part of it. Table Whisky is presented in a simple black wine bottle with an understated orange label. It’s warm, inviting. It feels familiar – even if you don’t see yourself as a whisky drinker. If you enjoy wine with dinner, if you share a bottle with friends, if you’re one of the growing numbers embracing natural wine, plonking a bottle down, gathering round, pairing it with conversation, then it’s immediately brings a recognisable feeling. 

This is the concept of ‘table whisky’. It’s modern, it’s refreshing. It really feels like the story here isn’t the whisky itself – although the liquid alone is a win for me. It’s about the experience. It’s inherently convivial. It isn’t trying to be anything, other than an easy-sipping single grain. It’s about the occasion. It’s a bottle that takes the back seat, and that is getting towards what feels radical about it. I also love that it’s a given that Table Whisky could be used as a cocktail ingredient. This isn’t a big deal. It just is. 

Two more things. Press releases are usually all singing, all dancing. They promise the earth and stars with a bottle of whisky. They tend to tell you that it will change your world. Which is absolutely right. Stories are captivating, they draw us in, they get us excited. But even revisiting the Table Whisky release at the time of writing I am struck. It is simply described as a “mainstay” of the Port of Leith Distillery bar (a must-visit, but that’s another story). It’s the “house pour”. And that’s it. Even at this point of sell-in, the whisky just quietly speaks for itself.

And a critical piece of what makes it special: the price. Table Whisky retails at £35. THIRTY FIVE POUNDS. For a 70cl bottle. Yes, I realise that £35 is a proper treat amount of money to spend on anything. But in the context of new whiskies, delicious whiskies, ones that get people excited, that get people talking, this is a rarity. Yes, it’s a no-age-statement single grain, so arguably this is the right price point. But show me a grain that achieves so much, including the price point. It feels… remarkable.

Table Whisky captures that rare feeling that I think many whiskies attempt to: a refreshingly modern bottling that has appeal beyond the established whisky drinker. It’s got a lifestyle appeal, without any exclusivity. The design blended with its flavour profile along with its price point feels like a democratisation of whisky. It’s not in any way gendered. But it’s not set out to be ‘for everyone’, it just is. And at a time where the whisky industry is grappling with what equality – or indeed equity – actually shows up like, it feels relevant. It’s unintentionally at the forefront. It’s groundbreaking. More like this, please.