Strathmore Distillery was founded in 1957 by George Christie (see "Speyside") as a private enterprise. The site occupied a 1.5-acre plot previously used by Robert Knox's Forth Distillery (established 1786) in Cambus, near the Cambus Distillery at Alloa. Initially, the distillery produced malt whisky in three modified Coffey stills, but by 1960 it had switched to grain whisky production—making it the smallest grain whisky distillery in Scotland at the time. The distillery closed in 1980, was sold to D.C.L. in 1982, and was dismantled in 1993. The distillery buildings were soon cleared and demolished.

Legend has it that North of Scotland distillery is haunted by the ghost of a former distiller, with both distillery workers and excise officers reporting multiple sightings of his apparition on the premises. (Philip Morris) 'To give its grain whisky more character, North of Scotland retained a significantly higher proportion of heads and tails—those flavor-rich congeners—during distillation than was typical, making its spirit instantly recognizable to seasoned palates.' (Philip Morris) Despite being located in Clackmannanshire in the Central Lowlands—quite far from the actual north of Scotland—the distillery's name was changed to North of Scotland in 1964.