Demijohn

Demijohn is one of those shops that I have often walked past but never really gone in for a look. Probably one of the reasons is that it has usually been packed as it’s quite a small little shop, full of liquid deliciousness.
Well today I finally made it in. I was looking for a gift for friends and thought I would find something interesting here. I certainly did! I wanted to get gin /​vodka or something like that. The shop assistant recommended the Seville orange gin liqueur and gave me a little sample to try as well. I was sold — it was a lovely, crisp and citrusy flavor that would go nicely on its own or maybe with some tonic. I also sampled the gooseberry gin liqueur (very delicate taste) and the blackcurrant one.
On to the bottles. You have to pay for the bottle, so 250ml one was about £2.50 and gin liqueur added it came to £16.10. As it was a gift they offered to write a message on the bottle (haha), which I thought was a nice touch and something I hadn’t even thought about.
I’ll be back!
ps. thanks for Lindsay O. for initially giving me the inspiration for visiting this shop and giving me the salad dressing recipe I asked her about :)

A lovely little shop offering artisanal oils, vinegars, liqueurs~~
I would rank the shop a strong 4 stars other times, but today it was a disappointing 3 stars due to one particular male employee.
The staff (with the exception of one) were all kindly attentive and helpful. Living in Edinburgh, this is a shop I like to visit even as a local :) It can be a bit busy during the weekends, but it is mainly due to the location. The upside is things do get moving at a relatively good speed. My most recent trip here was today Saturday 22^nd November 2014, around 1−2pm. The two ladies were wonderful at greeting the customers and offering their services. As more people came in, it was nice to see efficient service carried out by tag teaming. If one was at the cash register, she would kindly ask the other to get the waiting customer their requested sample. This was quite nice for us, as we decided we maybe wanted to take home more bottles!
The only downside to today’s visit was the off-​putting manner in which the male employee responded when asked about the name of the sample he gave me. The sweet young lady serving us was busy at the counter wrapping up and labelling our first bottle, so asked the lad to give us the requested sample as he was standing right by it. Busy as we were looking at the array of other selections, we didn’t see him take the sample. Once received, we realised it looked and tasted like the liqueur right next to the one asked for. Naturally, I asked «I’m sorry but is this the A sample, as opposed to the B sample?» To this quick question, I was jarringly met with a cold «I can’t help you, I’m serving another customer right now». To this, my partner almost walked out then and there. The rude tone was later only dismally followed up with his unapologetic attitude when we were in queue to pay. Perhaps him ignoring us later on (even thought right in front of us) was his way of coping with the realisation of his mistake; but it was hardly the treatment one would expect as a customer.
Thank you to the otherwise treat of a shop & the two kindly helpful young ladies. Usually the service is above par, hope this was just one negative experience we will not have again.

Demijohn is a fantastic little artisan shop on the Grass Market. It sells lots of delightful things and it is the kind of shop you always end up buying something that you didn’t go in for.
You select a bottle shape and size whether it is 100ml or 200ml square or wavy etc. Paying for the bottle in the first instance but you wash it and bring it back to refill the next time.
The difficult thing is picking which of the lovely fillings you want to take home. This time I went for my favourites apple cider vinegar and Yorkshire lemon rapeseed oil, if you mix them with a dollop of Dijon mustard you get the most divine salad dressing that I always get compliments on when served to house guests.
This time I ventured to the alcohol section and tried the Morello Cherry Brandy Liqueur, the lovely assistant let me sample it before and it was delicious!
All purchases are labelled with a glass pen hand written on the bottles then they are lovingly wrapped in tissue paper and tied with straw and with a Demijohn sticker on the top. The outcome is pretty and would make a great present.

After attending their tasting event on Friday 7^th February, I felt compelled to leave Demijohn a gleaming review, and let me just say what those guys don’t know about the production of liqueurs and oils probably isn’t worth knowing!
From its humble beginnings the family-​run and self-​proclaimed ‘world’s first liquid deli’ a decade ago, Demijohn goes all out to provide the finest array of vinegars, liqueurs and oils I have ever seen. Whether you are looking for a simple olive oil or a unique single-​cask whisky, you will find it here.
The staff are more than helpful and will actively encourage you to sample their offerings in order to decide what’s the right product for you.
We didn’t buy anything on this occasion, but I intend to go back this week and replenish my empty mead bottle. Word to the wise, I. J Mellis the cheesemonger is right next door, so if you are on the hunt for a decent tipple, then why not make a night of it and grab some amazing cheese too!

Popped in here in a rush to get a leaving gift for a colleague. The staff are friendly, helpful and very patient. They have a wonderful selection of oils, vinegars & liqueurs.
In the end I opted for a gift voucher to let my colleague make his own choice.
I’ll definitely be back to get something for myself. When I have a bit more time to browse.

Nectar from the gods. That’s what this place has. It’s like Zeus’s own personal collection or something. Seriously I love this place. They have anything and everything in terms of homemade wines, olive oils, vinegar, gins, vodkas, whiskies, sweet wines and liqueurs. Staff is always friendly and helpful. Let you sample everything ! Right next door is a cheese shop to pair with what you select here. Highly recommend this place to those who like everything above mentioned. I especially like the red wine vinegar and olive oils.

When in Edinburgh I would recommend a stop. This place has stuff you just cant get anywhere else. The staff was friendly and helpful and it didn’t hurt that they offered free samples… Maybe that’s why I enjoyed myself so much and bought so many things. The Vodkas were my favorite!

Liquid deli is right. this place is just south of the Edinburgh Castle and Royal Mile, so an easy walk away from the initial touristy crowd. with a couple wooden casks and plenty of bottles they’re well-​stocked with everything from port and whisky to differently flavored liqueurs
these guys are knowledgeable and courteous (yup, plenty of samples) and there were people ahead of us in line who brought their empty bottles back from a trip the year previous to restock on some of their goods
we ended up buying some of their Caol Ila single malt and some port, and they shrink wrap the bottles because they know most people are traveling. if you want some hand-​poured booze to take home from a local gem, make it a point to roll in to Demijohn

It all started with a sign written mirrored. I began reading it without paying attention to how it was written. «If you can read this, you haven’t drank enough» or something to that effect. I walked inside. Initially, I thought the store only featured olive oils. Oh, it’s so much more than that.
Now, I have friends that blend fruits and vodkas, so I ignored that portion. That’s when I noticed the cask strength whiskey selections. I purchased two varieties after asking the gentleman behind the counter some questions. 100ml samples are a breeze. If you’re a first time customer like me, be sure to factor in the 100 ml glass bottle costs (3.80 each). He gave us additional information about the casks and also pointed out that for traveling purposes, those bottles are clearly stamped 100ml on the bottom in case airport security has questions. Good man to anticipate my needs.
Cheers to Scotland and Demijohn.

Whether your’re looking for a fancy vinegar to spice up a dish or a tasty liquer to give as a unique gift, this is a great place to shop.
Shelves are stacked with large demijohns (giant glass bottles) filled with colourful liquids; on one side of the shop you have specialty exta virgin olive oils, infused olive oils and infused vinegars, and on the other a wide range of delicious liquers — from Elderberry & Port Liquer to Damson Gin and at the front, a couple of small barrels of good whisky (e.g. a 20 Year Old Bladnoch Single Malt). Each demijohn is labelled with tasting notes (% alcohol, best way to drink etc) to help you find the perfect drink, and the staff are very knowledgeable and happy to help you choose. But best of all, Demijohn offer a try-​before-​you-​buy service, so wander in, try, then buy!
Once you’ve chosen your liquer/​vinegar/​oil, the experience isn’t quite over… watch while the staff member decants your liquid into a bottle that you have either brought with you, or selected off the shelves. Bottles cost just a few pounds, and if you do end up buying one, you can bring it back time and time again to be refilled! Some of the bottles for sale are designed so that they can be stacked to create a tower and you can also buy a wooden box to make a gift extra special.
Once it has been filled, your bottle is corked, sealed, labelled, and lovingly wrapped!
Demijohn is a treat for the senses — head along to see the colours and taste the treats!

I’ll start this review off with a disclaimer: I have only tried one thing from Demijohn, everything else I purchased for others.
Taking that into account, what I’m mainly reviewing is my experience there.
Last Christmas (aaaaaaaaaand now I have that terrible song stuck in my head) I bought several gifts for my family here. Every time I was in the area I tried to pop by but there were always so many people inside the tiny store, I put it off and put it off until eventually I had to just bite the bullet and go. When I did, I was very surprised to find that there was only one person working on a Saturday, and a queue of customers waiting to be served. Anyone who has ever been there before knows that buying products at Demijohn is not a quick experience — they have to carefully fill the bottle, tape it all up, and write on it. Plus, people are usually buying a few things when they go so each customer takes quite a while to serve.
So, I waited for my turn, got everything I wanted, and went to pay. I hadn’t realised how much it really added up. You pay for the bottle once and can bring it back as many times as you like, after which you only pay for the product. That’s great for someone who lives close and is hooked on their products, but when you’re buying gifts those cute little glass bottles get expensive.
Don’t get me wrong — the guy who helped me was great. He took care with everything he did and was fun to chat with while he did it. I agree with one reviewer who said that this place is great for gifts that are a bit different but I left feeling like I’d paid a lot more than I should have for what I got and had spent far too much time getting it.
To top it off I was able to try one of the things I bought — the lemon vodka– which was nice, but to me it wasn’t really anything to write home about. That being said, while I was there one woman came in to refill her bottle of sloe gin which she said had all been sucked up at a dinner party where all of the guests loved it. Maybe I tried the wrong product?

Balsamic vinegar
Raspberry vinegar
Bramble vinegar
Lemon vinegar
Kabbadas olive oil
Villa Montalbano extra virgin olive oil
El Campico extra virgin olive oil
Grapefruit vodka
Rhubarb vodka
Raspberry vodka
Sloe gin
Gooseberry gin
Nelson spiced rum
Black cherry liquer
& Bramble scotch whisky
You guessed it, Demijohn specialises in delicious spirits, liquers, olive oils and vinegars made from the finest fruits, herbs and ingredients in Scotland and beyond. As it’s summer, they currently have some wonderful cucumber vodka and elderflower vinegar to taste and buy.
Everything in the shop is beautifully displayed in glass orbs and you can choose what style of glass bottle to buy your spirit or oil in. The only catch is the prices. As these are artisan products produced especially for Demijohn, we’re talking artisan prices of £25-£40 for a bottle.

Nelson’s Spiced rum liqueur and the apple vinegar shouldn’t be missed. To be honest while the contents on sale do taste good, I love this store because of the jars into which they decant their various potions. It’s lots of fun and worth a look!

I stumbled upon Demijohn by mistake and then entered the establishment with the express intention of not buying anything at all. What. A. Fail.
Demijohn is a so-​called ‘liquid deli’ on Victoria Street, right off the Grassmarket, which is, in my most humble opinion, the place for quirky shopping. It’s also the area that will have your money flying out your pockets before you’ve had the chance to figure out what’s going on.
So, my flatmate and I stumbled into the shop, dazzled by the large curvaceous bottles on display in the shop window. These are the kind of bottles that look like they belong in an apothecary or in a giant’s chemistry lab. All we wanted to do, in that very naïve way of ours, was to have a few tasters of the delicious, decadent looking alcohol. The woman who worked there was very kind and patient, and not at all put off by our excited Unilocal at all the different delicious liqueurs and spirits that swam in the bottles, which were many times the size of our heads.
Me, I’m a fan of port. I know some people find it sickening, but I’ll choose port over dessert (almost) any day. I also love elderberries. Demijohn, would you believe, has elderberry port! We were sold.
Apart from deliciously fruity liqueurs, whisky and sloe gin, Demijohn also has an array of olive oils and vinegars that look to die for.
The deal with this place is that you have to buy a bottle. The apothecary kind. The prices range from 10 pounds up, depending on the size of the bottle. Then, you try the different delectable boozes, point excitedly at the one you crave, and get your bottle filled. Not only do you get tasty liquids from this process, but a pretty snazzy vessel for it too. You can come back and refill your bottle at any time so that you don’t have to spend money on another.
Demijohn is just plain awesome. I highly recommend stopping by to have a look. At your own risk, that is.

Demijohn is the kind of place you would come if you wanted to get a gift for someone with a difference.
They sell oils, vinegars and spirits syphoned from huge glass orbs and collected in really pretty bottles which would look gorgeous on the shelves of your pantry!
Everything is so unique and wonderful that it’s kind of hard to choose what to buy, but I usually go for an unusual spirit which always goes down well as a gift. Being a gin fan, the Seville Orange flavoured gin is usually top of my list, at £3.80 per 100ml.
It can get expensive, but for something a wee bit different it is definitely worth it.

It looks a bit like what I imagined a potion’s master cabinet would look like: stacked high with large strange looking vases containing various liquids in different colours.
This place boasts a wide selection of virgin olive oils of different presses, as well as vinegars, spirits and liquors all elegantly presented and most available for tasting. Of course being a deli things are a bit on the pricey side, but they make perfect individual gifts, especially to those who appreciate good quality oils etc.

I am absolutely thrilled to be able to give the first review of Demijohn! This is probably one of my favorite places to shop for edible things in all the world. The fact that I live in San Francisco, and yet I have at least a dozen Demijohn bottles on my liquor and vinegar shelves at this very moment, should illustrate my deep love. Some were hand carried home by me from my few visits, and others were given as wedding presents from UK-​based friends who know us quite well.
They call themselves a «liquid deli,» which is quite accurate. Spirits, liqueurs, vinegars, and olive oils are all on offer here in gigantic glass vats — most from Scotland, a few from further afield. Samples of everything are cheerfully given, and when you finally are able to make a decision, you pick out a lovely glass bottle and have it filled and labeled while you wait.
If I ever find another vinegar as delicious as their elderflower, I shall be shocked, and I think I might shed a tear when our bottle of Nelson’s Spiced Rum Liqueur is empty. Truly this is a place worth going out of your way for.

You walk past this shop, look in and see big glass jars (and I mean really big) and you are not sure what they are holding — as you go in for a look.
Wow, oils, gin, run, whisky. It is fantastic, pity the premises were not a bit bigger as this place would be truly awesome if it has a bigger choice. I bought a few of the vinegars, raspberry vinegar, elderflower vinegar and apple vinegar along with one of the more expensive oils which has a really strong flavour and was well worth the money. You fill up one of the Demijohn glass jars (which costs extra) but they can be brought back and refilled next time saving you money.
They also have gifts, bottles already filled which saves you thinking about what to get too much!
The staff are über friendly and happy to let you taste anything you want to try.

If you are in Edinburgh this is a great little shop to visit — makes really good gift. There are lots of different liquids and containers and you can have your own message out on.
Quite reasonable prices too.

What a great idea. Pick your liquid — range of gins and other alcoholic beverages, oils of various origin, vinegars and the like — then choose a bottle and they’ll fill it for you. Wrapped up rather fancy it’s a delightful gift and when it’s empty you can bring it back to be refilled, so environmental brownie points too!