North Port Brechin Whisky

North Port, also known as North Port-Brechin, was a Highland single malt distillery in the Angus town of Brechin. Founded in 1820 under the name Townhead, it later became Brechin Distillery before taking the North Port name, a reference to its position near the town's northern gate.

The distillery eventually became part of the Distillers Company Limited and later passed into the portfolio now associated with Diageo. After several periods of silence during its history, North Port closed for good in 1983, one of a number of distilleries shut during the industry downturn, and the site was demolished in the 1990s.

North Port was never widely promoted as a single malt while active, so surviving bottlings are rare and mostly come from Diageo's Rare Malts releases, occasional official bottlings under the Brechin name, and independent bottlers such as Gordon & MacPhail and Signatory. The whisky is often described as dry, fruity and lightly austere, with notes of citrus, orchard fruit, malt, honey, herbs, gentle spice and polished oak, while older expressions can develop wax, dried fruit and a more elegant Highland depth.

North Port is now one of Scotland's quieter lost distilleries: historically important, increasingly scarce and far less familiar than many closed names. Its remaining bottles preserve a distinctive eastern Highland style from a site that disappeared before single malt whisky fully moved into the modern spotlight.