Port Ellen distillery

The Port Ellen distillery is located in Port Ellen on the isle of Islay, Scotland. It initially operated between 1825 and 1983 when production shut down.

Port Ellen was established as a malt mill in 1825, and then developed as a distillery under John Ramsay from 1833 to 1892. The warehouses he built 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, although supplies of its single malt whisky are still available. When Port Ellen was closed in 1983, Diageo did knock down some of the buildings, repurposed others, and destroyed the stills. The distillery houses a malting which continues to supply all Islay distilleries, as per an agreement signed in 1987. The dwindling stocks of Port Ellen whisky are owned by Diageo; due to the closing of the distillery, its whisky is a collectors item.

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