The Port Ellen distillery is located near the town of the same name, on the isle of Islay in Scotland.
It was established as a malt mill in 1825 by Alexander Ker Mackay, and then developed as a distillery under John Ramsay from 1833 to 1892. The warehouses he built still exist and are now listed buildings. The distillery was acquired by the Distillers Company Limited in 1925, was closed in
1930 and rebuilt in 1967. It continued in production throughout the 1970s but was one of the victims of the slump of 1983. The whisky made in the 17 or so years between its re-opening and final closure have acquired a reputation as some of the finest to have been made on Islay in that time, and bottles are now extremely sought-after. Diageo has released an official bottling of Port Ellen every year since 2001, although it is presently unknown how many more of these bottlings will be forthcoming as stocks get lower. The distillery houses a malting which continues to supply all Islay distilleries, as per an agreement signed in 1987.Show more