North British Distillery: History, Owners and Grain Whisky Guide
Updated: 7 hours ago
The North British Distillery is a grain whisky distillery in the Gorgie area of Edinburgh. This guide covers its history, owners and the questions people ask most.
In this guide
Summarise this guide with AI
North British at a glance
Distillery fact | Verified detail |
|---|---|
Region | Lowland, Scotland |
Ownership | Grain distillery joint venture of Edrington and Diageo |
History | Established 1885 |
Whisky and production | Grain spirit supplier without a mainstream own-label single malt range |
Named expressions | No confirmed regular consumer bottlings documented |
Visits | Verify public access, current tours and opening times with the distillery before travelling. |
Join the North British whisky community poll
Which whiskies have you tried? What should Whisky Clan review next? Open the highlighted poll below, answer four quick questions and share your preferences with the community.
TAKE THE NORTH BRITISH COMMUNITY POLL · 4 QUICK QUESTIONS
Answer four quick questions to see real reader percentages. No account or email is required.
Where is North British Distillery?
It is in Gorgie, Edinburgh, Scotland, on a site chosen for rail access, the nearby Port of Leith and the city sewer.
North British history
Established in 1885 by a group of independent distillers, with Andrew Usher, William Sanderson and John M. Crabbie as major shareholders. The company bought a 10 acre pig farm on the western edge of Edinburgh. Production started in 1887, and within a year it was producing 3,600,000 litres of spirit a year.
Production reached 9,000,000 litres a year by the start of the First World War but halted in 1917 for lack of grain, and the site almost became an acetone plant for munitions before resuming in 1920. It fell to an all-time low of 1,200,000 litres a year in the 1930s. During the Second World War it was used as a grain store and later a D Day supplies depot.
Scotland's first saladin maltings were installed in 1948. In 1970 land was bought at Addiewell, West Lothian, for warehouses, and the Addiewell site now holds most maturation. In 1993 shareholders Robertson and Baxter and International Distillers and Vintners formed Lothian Distillers, which bought out the other shareholders for £84 million. Production reached 65,000,000 litres in 2007.
Who owns North British?
It is owned by Lothian Distillers Ltd, a joint venture with a 50% share each for Diageo and the Edrington Group. Its spirit goes into blends including Johnnie Walker and The Famous Grouse.
Production
Maize imported at about 3,000 tonnes a week from France via the Port of Leith, plus a smaller amount of malted barley.
Waste husks are pelletised into cattle feed.
Maximum plant capacity of 61,600,000 litres after the 1990s expansion.
Official website
Built to break a monopoly
ScotchWhisky.com's Whiskypedia says North British was founded in Edinburgh in 1885 because Scotland's blenders and spirit merchants could only buy grain whisky from DCL. Andrew Usher, William Sanderson, John Crabbie and James Watson joined forces to build a large grain distillery in Gorgie, close to the Union Canal, the railway and the Caledonian distillery, which DCL had absorbed the year before.
Production started in 1887 from a single Coffey still. Within three years capacity had doubled to three million gallons a year. Whisky making stopped during the First World War and restarted in 1920. By the 1960s it made six million gallons a year, a figure that doubled by the early 1970s, and for a time it was the largest grain plant in Scotland.
Ownership
Into the 1960s it ran as a kind of co-operative, with shareholders including Robertson and Baxter, IDV, William Lawson, Macdonald Martin, Seagram and William Teacher. In 1993 management passed to Lothian Distillers, an equal partnership between Robertson and Baxter (now Edrington) and IDV. IDV's 1997 merger with DCL, by then United Distillers, left North British jointly run by the firm it was set up to oppose. Whiskypedia lists Diageo (1997) and Edrington (1999) as parent companies.
How North British makes its spirit
Grain: maize, with a minimum of 15% malted barley.
Cook time: 90 minutes. Fermentation: 72 hours.
Distillation: three Coffey stills.
New make: 94.5% strength, filled at 68.6%.
Water: Pentland water.
Capacity: 73 million litres a year per Whiskypedia. The official site says over 60 million litres, a maximum of 65 million litres of new make, and current output of 40 to 45 million litres.
Daily output: the official site says on average 200,000 litres of alcohol a day.
The official site says North British is the only Scottish grain distiller to continually use maize, and that independent bottlers seek it for that profile. Whiskypedia lists blends it contributes to, including Cutty Sark, Famous Grouse, Chivas Regal, J&B and Isle of Skye.
Visiting
North British is not open to the public. Its address is 9 Wheatfield Road, Edinburgh, EH11 2PX.
Sources
Verified producer details and recent milestones
North British makes grain spirit at industrial scale rather than a range of consumer-facing single malts. The company describes a maximum new-make capacity of 65 million litres per year and typical annual output of around 40 to 45 million litres, figures that may change over time.
Its published services include unaged grain spirit, grain whisky matured in oak and bonded cask storage for trade partners. Independent bottlers may release individual casks under their own labels, but they should not be confused with an official North British core retail range.
What makes North British distinctive?
Grain spirit supplier without a mainstream own-label single malt range
North British whisky bottle and expression comparison
North British is principally a grain whisky supplier for blends. Independent bottlers have released casks, but the research does not establish an official, regularly marketed distillery-branded core range.
A named bottle will be added only when producer documentation or a reliable label confirms a retail release.
More distilleries to explore
Frequently asked questions about North British
Where is North British distillery?
In Gorgie, Edinburgh.
Who owns North British?
Lothian Distillers, a 50/50 venture between Diageo and Edrington.
When was it founded?
In 1885, with production starting in 1887.
What does it make?
Grain whisky and grain neutral spirit for blends.
Where does it mature its whisky?
Mostly at Addiewell in West Lothian.
Sources and editorial checks
Original historical research and source notes are preserved in this guide. Producer details, distillery access and releases may change.
Help us improve this distillery guide
Know something we should add or correct about North British Distillery? Share verified facts, bottle releases, awards or useful sources using the form below. Newsletter subscription is optional.
If the embedded form does not display, Open the contribution form in a new tab.
About the author
 | Filip Janczak Storyteller, drinker and explorer of all things whisky. Read more about the person behind Whisky Clan and explore additional reviews and distillery guides. |
Comments