In October 2017, Diageo announced plans to re-open Port Ellen (& Brora) in 2020.
Port Ellen was named for Lady Eleanor Campbell, wife of the founder of the town of Port Ellen
VisitingYou can walk, cycle or drive through the site of Port Ellen Distillery on the road to the Oa, between the warehouses and what reains of the other buildings - principally the pagoda topped kilns.
Vital Stats
Established by AK Mackay in 1825, by 1836 it was in the hands of John Ramsay, a relative of Mackay. Port Ellen was the first distillery to export single malt whisky to North America, it was also the first to install a spirit safe. Ramsay also helped Robert Stein and Andreas Coffey develop their continuous stills - at Port Ellen.
Despite all these pioneering efforts, and it's reputation today, Port Ellen Distillery was first closed in 1929 as a result of the slump in world production of whisky associated with American prohibition. It had remained in the Ramsay family until 1920 when it was acquire by John Dewar & Sons, who subsequently became part of the Distillers Company Limited - a predecessor of Diageo. By 1967 when production restarted the demand for whisky had increased to such a state that an additional two stills were built. But the next slump proved too much for Port Ellen, and it closed again this time for good in 1983. The bold PORT ELLEN legend on the warehouses, and the maltings built next to the distillery in 1973 still dominate Kilnaughton Bay. Malt Madness Wikipedia WhiskyMerchants.co.uk scotchwhisky.com |
Getting ThereClick the map's Google logo to go to Google Maps - for Directions, Street View etc.
Open Cycle Map Bing Map Bowmore Laphroaig Lagavulin Ardbeg Distilleries Islay Distilleries Port Ellen Distillery is about a half a mile north of Port Ellen. Port Ellen is one of the two ports on Islay served by CalMac ferry from Kennacraig (timetable Winter Summer). Getting to Kennacraig (see Islay page) RangeBeing a closed distillery, Port Ellen whisky is rare, expensive and highly sought after. There are still quite a few bottlings available however, from both Diageo (the last owners) and several independent labels. (The Whisky Exchange website lists nearly 50 bottlings - from £750).
RMW TWE MoM CyclingIslay Cycles 07760 196592
Run from a house in Port Ellen, so not a shop as such, but hire, sales, accessories and repairs available - see website/ring for further details. Brian Palmer 01496 810653 describes himself as "the only cycle repairer and spare parts person in Bowmore". Again run from his house. There's a load of cycing reated information on Brian's washingmachinepost website. See also islayinfo.com Bike hire from Bowmore Post Office 01496 810366; Port Ellen 01496 302349.and Islay Cyces as above; Port Charlotte 01496 850488; and Port Askaig (Persabus) 01496 840753. Nearest Cycle Shops Lochgilphead (18 miles from Kennacraig), Oban Nevis Cycles 87 George Street, Oban 01631 566033 David Graham 13-15 Combie Street, Oban 01631 562069 Crinan Cycles 34 Argyll Street, Lochgilphead 01546 603511 |
Photos on this page were taken by me. Click on photo to enlarge. Full size versions of all my photos of Port Ellen Distillery are available on Flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martynjenkins/sets/72157627524231832
http://www.flickr.com/photos/martynjenkins/sets/72157627524231832