North Port (Brechin) distillery was originally built in Brechin in 1820 and called Townhead distillery, but was renamed to Brechin in 1823 after the passing of the whisky excise act.

It was built by David, John & Alexander Guthrie and in 1825 they formed a limited company called Guthrie, Martin & Co.

In 1839 the distillery was renamed North Port.

1922 saw DCL (Distillers Company Ltd) and W.H. Holt and Co. take over North Port, then ownership switched to SMD and the distillery was run under license by Mitchell Brothers of  Glasgow.

The distillery was mothballed in 1983 and demolition occurred steadily afterwards. As you see here the site is now home to a Safeway supermarket.

More great distillery info here, thanks to Malt Madness

Photos with kind permission by Teimei Horiuchi

North Port / Brechin

General whisky characteristics: Smooth, rich & sadly no more!

D. Laing 'Old Malt Cask', North Port, distilled 1966, 36y, 50% ABV

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

The picture shows the standard 'OMC' presentation and is not this North Port

Nose: Delightfully rich with plums, old oak, a little marzipan and just a hint of iodine.

Palate: An initial iodine tingle on the tongue, fading quickly to a creamy smoothness and then a sudden burst of marzipan and plums as the explosion returns. A second taste increases the presence of marzipan and offers a fantastically smooth and creamy nuttiness with more hints of dark fruits (plums, raisins and blackcurrant). The flavours hit with an explosion, but quickly dissipate and then return slowly in a luxurious creaminess which lingers and lingers ..... and lingers....

With 3 drops of water: The nose opens a little and the spiciness, or tongue tingle is increased, making it slightly less creamy and even longer in the finish.

Overall Impression: Wonderful, from the deep amber colour to the rich nose and the smooth deep flavours. This is a very good dram, perhaps not the most complex, but certainly luxurious, creamy and a delight to drink.

Cadenhead 'Chairman's Stock', North Port (Brechin), 1977 - 9.2006, 29y,  51.4% ABV

Bourbon Hogshead, one of 174 bottles

Typical cost of this bottle; €€€€€

Glass: Classic Malt

Colour: Glowing cork

Nose Nice, but hard to describe; Is it perfumed wood? Not quite. Is it furniture polish? Not quite. Is it floral? Not quite. Is it good? Absolutely and it's very aromatic too.

Palate: Everything from the nose translates directly onto the palate along with a little pepperiness, but it's all even more intense here.

Finish: Long and resonating, or should I say repeating?

Overall Impression: I love it. Is it a "Great" Not quite, but very nearly so and bloomin' marvellous!