Demijohn - The Liquid Deli

We popped in on a whim while on holiday because it was cold and I spied the liquor! We were very pleasantly surprised.

The ladies there were very knowledgeable, answering any and all questions we had, and offered samples as well! Who knew?

The liquors we tried were all very good, flavorful, rich and definitely lend themselves to experimentation. My favorite was the Gooseberry however we enjoyed the Black Currant as well. Honestly, we didn't try one thing that wasn't exceptional.

The down low is that if you use or enjoy oils, vinegars, or liquors, you really should stop in. Small batches of all these items. You get great information while trying before you buy. Bring back your bottles for discounted refills!

We ended up making a purchase as a gift and some to fly home with. We most definitely will go back on all of our return trips.

This little shoppe was one of our most enjoyable experiences in Edinburgh! We wandered in whilst shopping on Victoria Street and fell in love! There are all sorts of yummy concoctions to choose from. I love that you purchase your own bottles (which are very reasonable priced by the way) and you can bring them back to be refilled. It is very enviornmentally friendly. My son was having trouble chosing between the Mead and the Toffee Whisky Liqueur, so that staff graciously allowed him to sample both. They were so yummy that he purchased two bottles and ended up buying both! The Mead was delicious with a lovely honey flavor and I "helped" my son consume it all before our flight but the Toffee Whisky at 20% was a bit much for me so he was on his own on that one. We really enjoyed the product and the experience here and if we lived nearby we would be regular customers for sure. I highly recommend stopping by when in the area; you won't be disappointed!

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 naive 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 yelps 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 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 :)

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

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.

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.

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?

This place is full of liquid yummy. We stopped in because we saw the giant containers of colorful liquids and decided to check them out and see if we could get a taste. There are many different alcoholic treats here and sampling is encouraged. If you do decide to purchase some to take home, they pour your drink in a nice little decorative bottle and have the option of writing a message on the bottle if it's a gift. We ended up purchasing a 250mL bottle after tasting a few different items. I'd love to visit again and try any new flavors they may have.

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.