Port Ellen

Translation: (place name) Port of the island

Region: Islay

Is there a life after death?

At least in the case of Port Ellen, the answer is: luckily yes. The distillery on Islay South Coast was shut down in 1983. Much to the chagrin of the many whiskey enthusiasts who love this characterful malt. Much of the buildings and facilities were demolished, the firing license extinguished, reopening excluded. A tragedy. But: Port Ellen lives and lives on in a different form and contributes to Malt Bliss. The warehouses have long been used by Lagavulin. And the Port Ellen malt house still supplies the Islay distilleries with real Islay barley malt.

A little history

The distillery was founded in 1825 by Alexander Kerr Mackay.
In 1836 she became the property of John Ramsay. In 1920, his nephew sold the distillery to James Buchanan & Co. and John Dewars & Sons Ltd., merging with Distillers Company Limited (DCL) in 1925.
In 1929, Port Ellen was closed for the first time and only in 1966, modernized and reopened with now four instead of two stills.
In 1973, a large malting plant was built, The used peat came from the neighboring Castlehill Moor.
In May 1983, Port Ellen closed again. Unfortunately this time finally.
In 1987, the disused distillery was sold to United Distillers (UD), which dismantled parts of the plant. The license for whiskey production has been extinguished since 1992, the distillery was demolished in large parts. The malting, however, persisted and today supplies most of the Islay distilleries with malt.
Parts of the Port Ellen building are listed buildings.

What do I actually have in the glass?

Port Ellen is unmistakably an Islay malt: deep, full and spicy, with a distinct peat note. But he may be a little less powerful than Lagavulin or Ardbeg.

3 reasons to love Port Ellen

1) Because not everything was better in the past, but some things were very good.
2) Because it is Islay.
3) Because this malt must not sink into the mists of oblivion.

The one drama for the lonely island

For Port Ellen: Buy and enjoy whatever you can get (and afford ...). Because the stocks are scarce and soon there will be no way to get to know this great Malt.

numbers and facts

Address: Port Ellen, Isle of Islay, PA42 7DU
Founded: 1825 by Alexander Kerr Mackay
Status: closed / (partially) demolished
Owner: UDV (Diageo)
Capacity: formerly about 800.00 liters
2 wash stills (28,000 l)
2 spirit stills (25,000 l)
Water: Leorin Lochs
Visitor Center: No.
Telephone: -
Website: none