North British Distillery

First things first: despite the name, it’s Scottish, and always has been.

Founded in Edinburgh in 1885 by a consortium of independent blenders, North British was established as an alternative to the mighty Distillers Company Ltd (DCL). Depending on where you stood, DCL was either a well-meaning group of like-minded businesspeople dedicated to the quality and consistency of grain whisky supply, or a shameless cartel of monopolists with a stranglehold on the industry.

North British’s founders took the latter view, moving straight into full-scale industrial production and distribution: the distillery sits next to a railway line near the Union Canal, with the nearby port of Leith enabling easy delivery of grain (they chose to use maize, and still do) from overseas. A single Coffey still kicked off production in 1887, producing 3.6 million litres in the year, and was soon pumping out almost three times that.

World War I, Prohibition, the Great Depression and World War II played havoc with the place (it was used as an ammunition factory in WWI and for cereal storage in WWII), but in spite of wild fluctuations in production it continued on, and by the mid-fifties, things were on the up-and-up, with the distillery expanding and production eventually peaking at 36.4 million litres in 1979 (thanks to some big upgrades).

The company celebrated its centenary in 1985 and broke its production record in 1990 (41.7 million litres), even as the nearby Caledonian – Edinburgh’s only other grain distillery – shuttered in 1988. But economic hardship raised its ugly head again not too soon after, and the distillery itself suffered damage when the No. 4 still exploded in 1992 (luckily nobody was hurt).

In 1993, the company saw its first change of ownership in 108 years, as shareholders Robertson & Baxter joined with International Distillers & Vintners (IDV) to create Lothian Distillers and buy out their fellow shareholders. Plans for an ambitious expansion were soon put in place, and in 1998 the distillery passed a milestone: 1.5 billion litres of spirit produced. An ex-Bourbon cask was filled to mark the occasion, taking pride of place in the still-standing No.1 Warehouse.

Today, North British is co-owned by Diageo and Edrington Group, with the distillery providing liquid for blended whiskies like Famous Grouse and Johnnie Walker. The distillery can produce over 70 million litres a year, and hold 130 million litres on site (the majority of maturation happens off site, at Muirhall in West Lothian).

It remains one of only six dedicated grain distilleries in Scotland – it’s the only one using maize – and still does what it was founded for over 140 years ago: making a stupendous amount of cracking grain whisky.