North British

North British is a large distillery on the outskirts of Edinburgh, Scotland. It produces grain spirit for use in blended Scotch whisky and a variety of spirit brands. 

The distillery is owned as a joint venture between Diageo and the Edrington Group.

North British spirit tends to be more robust than other grain whiskies. The mature whisky carries notes of coconut, vanilla and cereal.

Scotch grain whisky is made from four ingredients: water, malted barley, whole cereals and yeast. North British uses maize and malted barley in an 85% to 15% split. Around 3300 tons of maize are imported from France every week.

The distillery is equipped with three Coffey stills. These are based on a design pioneered by Aeneas Coffey in 1830. Unlike the pot stills favoured in malt whisky production, column stills allow for continuous distillation. As a result, grain distilleries can produce far greater quantities of spirit. In 2015, North British achieved 2.5 billion litres of alcohol.

Distillery by-products are used to create animal feed and gas is converted into electricity.

Spirit allocated for blended Scotch ages in refill bourbon casks from the US. The distillery's whisky has contributed to blends like Johnnie Walker, Famous Grouse, Cutty Sark, Chivas Regal and J&B. It also produces spirit for Smirnoff vodka.

Bottlings are rare, though independent bottlers occasionally release single cask versions. In 2018, the distillery worked with Douglas Laing to release a 58-year-old single cask. The Incorporation Edition was distilled in 1960. 

North British is one of the oldest and largest of Scotland’s grain whisky producers. It was founded by a cooperative that included Andrew Usher, William Sanderson and John M. Crabbie. Before 1885, grain whisky could only be bought from DCL. North British was set up to break that monopoly.

The founders bought ten acres of land on the western outskirts of Edinburgh. The location gave them good access to the city's railway and the Port of Leith. The main city sewer also ran less than 100 yards away, allowing for easy disposal of effluent waste. The distillery became operational in 1887.

The turn of the century saw the owners embroiled in a legal battle. Malt distillers went to the courts to stop lowland grain producers from calling their spirit whisky. It took three years to settle the matter with the grain distillers coming out on top. In 1908, it was confirmed in law that grain spirit could be considered whisky.

During the First World War, North British distillery was taken over for munitions purposes. It was used to produce acetone, a key component in the explosive cordite. 

Production resumed in 1920 but stopped again in 1939 as war gripped the world once more. There simply wasn’t enough raw ingredients to keep production running.

The distillery reopened after a decade of silence. The North British Lunch is an annual celebration that sees executives from across the industry come together to mark the anniversary of the end of the war relief effort.

In 1970, 30 acres of land were purchased in West Lothian upon which to build warehousing. The site was expanded further in 1975.

In 2021, the distillery received a £2.5million grant from Scottish Enterprise. The money was part of an initiative to foster a green and fair recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

North British distillery is owned as a joint venture between the Edrington Group and Diageo. It is somewhat ironic, as Diageo grew out of DCL, the very company the distillery was set up to oppose.