North Port Distillery — Highland Single Malt Whisky

North Port Distillery is a Scotch whisky distillery located in Brechin, Angus, in the Highland region of Scotland. It was founded in 1820 and was closed permanently in 1983, with the site later demolished. North Port is notable for being one of the oldest licensed distilleries in Brechin and for taking its name from a former gate in the town's medieval walls that once stood near the site.

History

North Port was established in 1820 by brothers David, John, and Alexander Guthrie, initially trading as Townhead Distillery. It was renamed Brechin Distillery in 1823, before finally taking the name North Port in 1839 to avoid confusion with the nearby Glencadam distillery, which had been founded in 1825. The Guthrie family and their partners ran the distillery until 1893, when it was reorganised as a limited company, Guthrie, Martin & Company Limited. In 1922 the business was bought by the Distillers Company Limited (DCL) together with W. H. Holt & Company, after which it passed into the hands of DCL's malt whisky subsidiary, Scottish Malt Distillers, and was for a time operated as Mitchell Brothers. Production was intermittent through the twentieth century, pausing in the mid-1920s, resuming in 1937, halting again during the Second World War due to wartime rationing, and restarting in 1948. The distillery drew its process water from the River South Esk.

Quick Facts

• Region: Highland (Eastern Highlands, Angus)
• Founded: 1820
• Owner: Diageo (successor to Distillers Company Limited/Scottish Malt Distillers, the last operating owner)
• Status: Closed

Closure & Legacy

North Port fell victim to the wider malt whisky industry downturn of the early 1980s and was permanently closed in 1983 as part of a wave of DCL distillery closures. The site was sold for redevelopment in 1990 and the buildings were demolished in 1994; a Safeway supermarket (later acquired by Somerfield) was subsequently built on the land, so no trace of the original distillery survives today. Because production ceased more than four decades ago and stocks were never widely marketed as a core brand, original North Port single malt bottlings are scarce. Independent bottlings released over the years by specialist bottlers are considered collectible rarities among Highland whisky enthusiasts, prized as one of the few remaining traces of a lost Brechin distilling tradition.