Jamie Lockhart
In the early twenty-first century, Edinburgh experienced a renewed surge of interest in whisky distilling. For decades the city had been more closely associated with blending, bottling, warehousing, and whisky commerce than with active malt distillation. That began to change in the late 2010s as several projects sought to reconnect the Scottish capital with its historic whisky identity. Among the younger generation of distillers involved in that revival was Jamie Lockhart, the distillery manager who helped guide Bonnington Distillery from construction site to operational whisky producer.
Meanwhile, Bonnington emerged from that revival with the historic John Crabbie whisky name, which, since 1801 had been long-associated with the whisky trade in Edinburgh’s Leith district. In those days, Leith was one of the most important whisky ports in Scotland. The area’s bonded warehouses stored enormous quantities of maturing whisky, and the area developed close connections to blending houses, spirits merchants, and exporters. By the late twentieth century, however, traditional whisky production in the area had largely disappeared. That changed when Halewood Artisanal Spirits began developing plans for a modern distillery in Leith under the Crabbie banner.
The Bonnington project had begun in 2017 on Graham Street, close to the historic Crabbie premises. Construction work soon revealed archaeological remains linking to old fortifications and Bonnington House, discoveries that reinforced the project’s connection to Edinburgh’s layered industrial history. Jamie Lockhart joined the Bonnington team around that time as a distillery operative while the project was still in development. Entering at such an early stage meant that he became involved in the distillery before regular production even began. Bonnington was not simply another established Scotch whisky plant hiring an experienced manager to oversee mature operations, it was a new distillery attempting to define its identity from the ground up.
Before Bonnington officially opened, the wider Crabbie whisky project operated a smaller experimental site known as Chain Pier Distillery in Granton. This pilot distillery served as a testing ground where the team could experiment with mash bills, fermentation times, distillation techniques, and cask strategies while the larger Leith facility was under construction. During later interviews, Lockhart explained that the micro-distillery environment allowed the team to refine the spirit style they wanted before scaling production upward. The early experimental nature of the Chain Pier operation reflected the broader philosophy that would define Bonnington Distillery. Lockhart repeatedly emphasized experimentation and innovation as central elements of the project. Rather than strictly reproducing the traditional light Lowland style commonly associated with the region, the distillery aimed to create a heavier, more characterful spirit.
Bonnington Distillery officially began production in March 2020 after commissioning in late 2019. The timing was difficult. The whisky industry, like nearly every sector of international business, soon faced the operational disruptions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Even so, Bonnington continued developing production capacity and building inventory. The distillery itself was designed as a modern production facility with significant output potential. It featured bespoke squat-neck copper stills produced by Speyside Copper Works, a mash tun capable of processing large quantities of malted barley, multiple fermentation vessels, and access to both peated and unpeated malt. Water for production was drawn from an aquifer located deep beneath the site.
Lockhart rose rapidly within the organization. After joining as a distillery operative, he was promoted to lead distiller and eventually became distillery manager. Because he had been present from the beginning, he developed an unusually close connection to every phase of the operation’s development. His responsibilities expanded beyond routine distillation work into broader management duties that included production oversight, staffing, operational efficiency, and environmental improvements. Under Lockhart’s leadership, the Bonnington team reportedly grew from approximately five employees to around twelve. The distillery also worked to improve productivity while reducing environmental impact during its early operating years. At the same time, Lockhart helped shape the identity of the whisky itself, and the distillery embraced diverse maturation strategies, laying spirit down in a wide range of casks including ruby Port, Pedro Ximénez sherry, Marsala, Tokaji, Calvados, and Muscat casks. That willingness to experiment became one of Bonnington’s defining characteristics during its first years of operation. Lockhart frequently discussed the importance of building a broad inventory of cask types and spirit profiles that would allow the distillery flexibility as its whisky matured.
The first major public milestone came with the release of Bonnington’s inaugural single malt. Released in early 2024, the whisky was matured in ruby Port casks and bottled at cask strength. Only 500 bottles were produced, and each was hand-signed by Lockhart. The release represented a major symbolic moment not only for the distillery but also for the wider return of Crabbie-branded single malt production to Leith. The inaugural release was followed by additional limited bottlings. Bonnington continued emphasizing small-batch experimentation rather than attempting to establish a large standardized core range immediately.
Although much about Lockhart’s personal life remains outside the public record, his professional role in Bonnington’s development is well-documented. In a whisky industry that often emphasizes heritage and continuity, Lockhart became part of a new generation attempting to reconnect Edinburgh with a distilling tradition that had largely vanished for nearly a century. Bonnington Distillery’s early years, from archaeological excavation to inaugural release, unfolded with Jamie Lockhart directly involved at nearly every stage.
Sources:
Linkedin, “John Crabbie & Company Limited profile”, linkedin.com
John Crabbie & Co., “The Bonnington Distillery,” crabbiewhisky.com
Scottish Licensed Trade News, “Leith Innovators’ Bonny Addition to the World of Scotch Whisky”, Gordon Davidson, 10 November 2023, sltn.co.uk
Malt Musings, “Newer Distilleries: Bonnington,” 12 December 2023, malt-musings.blogspot.com
Escapement Magazine, “Crabbie Chain Pier Lowland Single Malt,” 6 August 2023, escapementmagazine.com
Instagram post | Bonnington Distillery, “Meet our Distillery Manager”, instagram.com
Contributed by Tracy McLemore, Fairview, Tennessee USA
