| Country | scotland |
| Region | Lowland |
| Established | 1811 |
| Owner | Diageo |
| Type | Grain |
| Number of stills | |
| Visitor center | No |
| Status | Closed |
| Phone | n/a |
Port Dundas Distillery is a Scotch grain whisky distillery that stood in Port Dundas, Glasgow, Lowland, Scotland. It was founded in 1811 and was closed in 2010 by owner Diageo. At its peak it was one of Scotland's largest grain distilleries, producing spirit that went into some of the world's best-known blended whiskies.
The Port Dundas site began as two separate operations: one established in 1811 by Daniel McFarlane, and a second founded in 1813 by Brown, Gourlie & Co. Coffey (patent) stills for continuous grain whisky production were installed at both distilleries in 1845, and the two operations later merged in the 1860s. In 1877 Port Dundas became one of the founding constituents of the Distillers Company Limited (DCL), the forerunner of what is now Diageo.
The distillery suffered repeated fire damage over its history, being destroyed by fire in 1903, rebuilt and reopened in 1913, and then rebuilt again after a second severe fire in 1916. Production was halted entirely during the Second World War. A major modernisation in the 1970s added a new grain intake, spirit store, still house, boiler house and dark grains plant, and by the time of its closure the site covered around 21 acres and had an annual capacity of roughly 39 million litres of spirit, making it one of the largest grain distilleries in Scotland.
Throughout its working life Port Dundas supplied grain whisky for major blends including Johnnie Walker, J&B, Bell's, Black & White, Vat 69, Haig and White Horse.
Diageo closed Port Dundas in 2010 as part of a wider consolidation of its grain whisky production, with output shifted to the Cameron Bridge distillery in Fife and to the North British distillery in Edinburgh. The site was demolished in 2011, and today nothing of the working distillery remains at Port Dundas, though the surrounding canal-basin area still carries its name. Because Port Dundas grain whisky was rarely bottled as a single grain in its own right, independent bottlings under the distillery's name are scarce; most surviving evidence of its output lives on indirectly, in the blended whiskies it once helped produce. What single-grain bottlings do exist from independent bottlers are considered a niche curiosity among collectors of closed-distillery Scotch rather than a widely traded category.
Port Dundas distillery is located at Port Dundas, Glasgow, Scotland.
Port Dundas distillery was founded in 1811.
Port Dundas distillery is owned by Diageo.
Port Dundas distillery is from Lowland, scotland.
You can buy Port Dundas whisky at Glenbotal.co.uk. We currently stock a selection with free UK delivery on orders over £99.
Last reviewed:
About Glenbotal
The idea of Glenbotal came to us naturaly: as whisky lovers, we were always on the lookout for new experiences in the whisky world. That’s why we created Glenbotal and became our very own first customers. We buy unique and hard to find spirits from auctions, ballots, and private collections. Then, we share them with a small circle of friends and people who can appreciate a good dram.