City planners could find some neat inspiration from whisky distillers - Susan Dalgety

​I hate whisky. Even the smell of Scotland’s spirit makes me gag. I much prefer the clean, fresh taste of iced vodka, or a classic gin and tonic. And my favourite tipple of all time is red wine.

The new Port of Leith Distillerty next to Ocean Terminal

But I can’t wait to sign up for a tour of Edinburgh’s new distillery at the Port of Leith – though I will leave my husband to taste the whisky.

​I am awestruck by the ambition and verve of the two men who dreamt of a distillery on the Leith shore.

But unlike those of us who talk wistfully of what we will do if we win the lottery, Ian Stirling and his partner Paddy Fletcher have made their dream come true through sheer hard work, a bit of luck and a whole lot of business acumen.

And what a dream it is.

The UK’s first vertical distillery, standing proudly next to the Royal Yacht Britannia on a small plot that, without Fletcher and Stirling’s vision would likely have remained a piece of waste ground.

From a distance, it looks amazing, especially when it’s lit up at night.

And now that the tram goes down to the Shore, it is sure to become a huge hit with locals and tourists alike.

Stirling hopes the distillery will attract 160,000 visitors a year by 2025.

The business will also create up to 50 full-time jobs and in time produce one million bottles of whisky a year, distilled from barley grown at a farm within spitting distance of the fourth floor grain milling space.

What’s not to love?

Kudos too to the city planners who gave the go-head for such an innovative building.

I may be quick to criticise Edinburgh’s po-faced officials who turn their noses up at pink doors in the New Town, or are set to turf the popular Festival Village pop-up bar off their Waverley Market site because it is not in keeping with the rest of the area (seriously, have the planners been on Princes Street recently), but they deserve a large dram for backing a high-rise distillery.

Cities are living things.

Edinburgh may be proud of its historic built environment, but we need buildings for the future too.

And Stirling and Fletcher have shown that, with a lot of imagination and courage, the most unlikely sites can be transformed into something quite spectacular.

The site wasn’t the duo’s first choice, but when a more practical plot near the Scottish Government’s offices at Victoria Quay fell through, the pair decided the only way was up, and they have built an astonishing building.

There is a lesson here for others.

Edinburgh is desperately short of good quality, affordable rented housing stock, for students, families and young adults ready to leave home, but unable to find anywhere to live.

There are those who argue that there are too many short-term lets in the city – but Edinburgh needs tourists – so the city’s leaders and the Scottish and UK governments need to find a way to provide enough homes for everyone.

Perhaps they should consider having a word with Ian Stirling and Paddy Fletcher for some inspiration on how to turn the most unlikely pieces of ground into something the city can be proud of.