The Phoenix Rises From The Ashes

The Return of Port Ellen Distillery

In 1983, Port Ellen Distillery closed its doors to be mothballed in the hope of better times. Well, Diageo at least must believe that 2024 is better for the prospects of whisky than the day the doors were locked. And who am I to disagree. In these times of so many new distilleries, it is great to see an old one make a comeback.

On 9 October 2017, Diageo invested £35 million to re-open Port Ellen. On 8 May 2019, Diageo submitted plans to revive the distillery, and to build a new stillhouse. They have used considerable efforts to recreate the stills, based on records from the 1980s. And they have former Port Ellen employees working for them elsewhere on Islay to assist in an accurate recreation of the Port Ellen style. The Distillery will make its comeback in March 2024.

And what a comeback. The first Port Ellen to go on sale in over 40 years will be a 44-year-old whisky which has sat maturing amongst the dustsheets in Port Ellen waiting to see the light of day. And if you have a spare 45 thousand pounds, you might possibly be able to own a bottle. There are two bottlings called Port Ellen Gemini Original and Port Ellen Gemini Remnant.

A Bit of History

Port Ellen was established as a malt mill in 1825, and then developed as a distillery between 1833 to 1892. The warehouses built then still exist and are listed buildings. The distillery was acquired by the Distillers Company Limited in 1925, was closed in 1930 and rebuilt in 1966/1967. It continued in production throughout the 1970s and was closed in 1983 under Diageo ownership. At that time, some of the buildings were knocked down and others repurposed. The stills were destroyed. The distillery housed a malting which continues to supply Islay distilleries, per an agreement signed in 1987.