North British was founded in 1885 by a consortium of Scottish blenders who hoped to break DCL’‘s monopoly on grain distillation (now Diageo). It was for a long time the most productive grain distillery in Scotland and, although most of its production was reserved for blends, a few of its venerable single grains are still released.

A 50 year old single cask North British (#DL Ref 9783) distilled in 1962 and bottled in 2013. Douglas Laing was founded in 1948 by Fred Douglas Laing, primarily as a blending company but also as an independent bottler, with the latter activity becoming increasingly prominent over the years. When Fred Douglas Laing died in 1982, his two sons Fred and Stewart took over the business. Stewart left in 2013 to set up Hunter Laing. Douglas Laing is today run by Fred Laing and his daughter Cara. A limited edition of 150 bottles.