North British Distillery Company
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The North British Distillery is a
grain whisky Grain whisky normally refers to any whisky made, at least in part, from grains other than malted barley. Frequently used grains include maize, wheat, and rye. Grain whiskies usually contain some malted barley to provide enzymes needed for mashi ...
distillery Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...
located in the
Gorgie Gorgie ( ) is a densely populated area of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located in the west of the city and borders Murrayfield, Ardmillan and Dalry. Name The name is thought to be Brythonic in origin. Early forms suggest it derives from ''gor g ...
area of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland. Established by a group of independent distillers in 1885, it is now a joint venture company between
Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...
and
Edrington Group Edrington (legally The Edrington Group Ltd.) is a privately owned international spirits company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It produces single malts The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes, Naked Malt and The Famous Grouse blended Scotc ...
. It is Edinburgh's last working distillery, widely known as the "NB".


History

With grain whisky consumption growing in the industrialised and railway connected
Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...
, independent distillers needed access to a high quality and high volume producer of pure grain alcohol. In 1885, major shareholders Andrew Usher, William Sanderson and John M. Crabbie, with numerous other whisky-blenders as shareholders, had established the North British Distillery Company Limited. The company bought a pig farm on the western outskirts of Edinburgh, adjacent to the developing suburb of Gorgie and Dalry. The site had a number of distinct advantages: *Direct access to the developing national railway network via the
Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway The Edinburgh Suburban and Southside Junction Railway was a railway company that built an east-west railway (known as the Edinburgh Suburban Line or more familiarly the Sub) on the southern margin of Edinburgh, Scotland, primarily to facilitate ...
, allowing input access for grain and output distribution of product *Close access to the
Port of Leith A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...
, allowing easy import of grain and later maize *The new main city sewer ran less than from the site, allowing easy flushout of effluent Production started in 1887, and within a year of opening the distillery was producing of spirit per year, output at a price of one shilling and three pence per proof gallon. By the start of World War I, production had risen to per annum, but came to a halt in 1917 due to a lack of economic supply of grain. Almost converted to acetone production for use in munitions, the site resumed production in 1920. Having reached pre-war production levels by 1925, with prohibition in the United States, followed by the 1930s
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, production fell to an all-time low of per annum. Production had barely recovered to similar post-World War I levels by the start of World War II, which again saw production suspended. The site was used initially as a grain store, and latterly as a D Day supplies depot. Just after resumption of production, in 1948 Scotland's first saladin maltings were installed. With rationing ending in the early 1950s, this spurred production to pre-World War I levels again. In the late 1950s the site was expanded to include the adjacent former
Edinburgh Corporation Tramways Edinburgh Corporation Tramways formerly served the City of Edinburgh, Scotland. The city used four-wheeled double-decked trams painted dark red (madder) and white – a livery still used by Lothian Buses and the post-2014 Edinburgh Trams. Ori ...
depot, to provide space for new warehouses. In 1967, the Darney quarry at
East Woodburn East Woodburn is a village located in Northumberland, England. Located on the A68 road just south of Darney Crag, it was created in conjunction with the Darney quarry, which provided its distinct fine to medium grained pale gold through, light b ...
, Northumberland was reopened to allow an extension to the buildings in the original stone, and kept open for two years to allow additional offices and brewing facilities to be added. In 1970, of land were purchased at
Addiewell Addiewell ( sco, Aidieswall, gd, Tobar Adaidh) is a former mining village in the Scottish council area of West Lothian. Historically it lies within the County of Midlothian. A new prison, HMP Addiewell, opened in 2008. There are two separate d ...
,
West Lothian West Lothian ( sco, Wast Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its shires of Scotland, historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geogra ...
to create six racked warehouses and a filling store, added to by an additional three racked warehouses in 1975. That same year an additional adjacent plot was purchased on the opposite (south) side of the A71 road. At this time, expansion of output was enabled by investment in production facilities enabling to be produced in 1979. The late 1970s/early 1980s downturn brought job losses, as production capacity had been planned on a 10% year-on-year increase. After output fell to , the economic revival brought consolidation across Scotch whisky production, and resulted in the 1988 closure of the Caledonian, Edinburgh's other grain distillery. Hence by 1991, output had recovered to . In 1993, shareholders Robertson & Baxter and International Distillers & Vintners formed joint venture company Lothian Distillers, which bought out all other shareholders for an agreed price of £84 Million. After the completion of the replacement of the exploded No.4 still, an expansion plan allowed the production of a grain-neutral spirit to support IDV's Smirnoff vodka brand, and maximum plant capacity to rise to . Rationalisation led to the sale of the maltings and warehouse site on Slateford Road and the Westfield Road warehousing site in 2002 and 2003 respectively. The vast majority of maturation warehousing is at Addiewell where a further four warehouses have been built since 2002, on the site bought in 1975.


Current

Lothian Distillers, and hence the sites and production, is jointly owned by
Diageo Diageo plc () is a Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It operates from 132 sites around the world. It was the world's largest distiller before being overtaken by Kweich ...
plc and the privately held
Edrington Group Edrington (legally The Edrington Group Ltd.) is a privately owned international spirits company based in Glasgow, Scotland. It produces single malts The Macallan, Highland Park, The Glenrothes, Naked Malt and The Famous Grouse blended Scotc ...
. Increased sales of Scotch whisky to India, China and South America brought about production of in 2007, produced for: *Diageo subsidiary
United Distillers & Vintners United Distillers was a Scottish company formed in 1987 from combining the businesses of Distillers Company and Arthur Bell & Sons, both owned by Guinness. The company owned six single malt Scotch brands, which were relaunched as the ''Classic ...
: Smirnoff vodka, Johnnie Walker whisky *Edrington: constituent of blended whiskies, including Famous Grouse whisky To enable this, the company imports maize ( per week from France via the Port of Leith), along with a lesser amount of malted barley. The waste output husks are pelletised into cattle-feed, while the liquefied carbon dioxide is sold via contractor Air Products and Chemicals.


See also

* Scotch Whisky Research Institute


References


External links


Company website
{{coord, 55, 56, 24.46, N, 3, 14, 8.17, W, region:GB, display=title British companies established in 1885 Manufacturing companies based in Edinburgh Distilleries in Scotland Buildings and structures in Edinburgh Companies based in Edinburgh Scotch whisky Diageo Gorgie 1885 establishments in Scotland Food and drink companies established in 1885