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Diageo
announce that they intend to bring Port
Ellen and Brora distilleries back from
the dead.
Whisky enthusiasts will be pleased to
hear that Diageo announced today that
they intend to bring two of their
distilleries back from the dead, Port
Ellen Distillery on Islay and their
Brora Distillery in the Northern
Highlands.
The two distilleries, which both
produced a medium peated style whisky,
closed back in 1983 during a slump in
demand for Scotch whisky but in recent
years whisky from the two closed
distilleries has become highly sought
after by whisky enthusiasts and
collectors which has obviously prompted
this very welcome move by Diageo.
When the two distilleries closed in 1983
no-one could have predicted how well
Port Ellen and Brora whiskies would age
and no-one could have forecast the
current boom in demand for Scotch single
malt whisky, particularly whiskies with
Port Ellen's and Brora's peaty
character.
Diageo intend to bring the two
distilleries back to life through a £35
Million investment, the new Brora and
Port Ellen distilleries will be among
Diageo’s smallest distilleries, capable
of producing 800,000 litres of alcohol
per year.
Port Ellen Distillery on the famous
whisky island of Islay, and Brora on the
remote eastern coast of Sutherland, will
both be reinstated to distil in
carefully controlled quantities, with a
meticulous attention to detail,
replicating where possible the
distillation regimes and spirit
character of the original distilleries.
Cask filling and traditional warehousing
will also be included on the sites of
both distilleries. The ultimate aim will
be to replicate as closely as possible
the previous taste profiles of Port
Ellen and Brora, with medium peated
character at both sites.
The site of the original Port Ellen
distillery is on the island of Islay,
adjacent to Diageo’s Port Ellen
Malting's facility and a few miles from
Lagavulin distillery. The original Port
Ellen distillery was demolished so
therefore the distillery building will
have to be completely rebuilt.
The original Brora distillery is
situated in the village of that name on
Scotland’s north east coast, adjacent to
Diageo’s Clynelish distillery, the
original Brora distillery building is
still standing and will be refurbished
and along with its original pair of
stills.
In this age of whisky tourism both of
the new distilleries will welcome guests
and they are expected to become iconic
attractions in the Scottish tourism
landscape, attracting whisky pilgrims
from around the globe.
Dr Nick Morgan, Diageo’s Head of Whisky
Outreach, who played an instrumental
role in building the reputation of Port
Ellen and Brora whiskies through the
Diageo Special Releases programme,
commented: "This is a truly exceptional
moment in Scotch whisky. Port Ellen and
Brora are names which have a uniquely
powerful resonance with whisky-lovers
around the world and the opportunity to
bring these lost distilleries back to
life is as rare and special as the
spirit for which the distilleries are
famous.
"Only a very few people will ever be
able to try the original Port Ellen and
Brora single malts as they become
increasingly rare, so we are thrilled
that we will now be able to produce new
expressions of these whiskies for new
generations of people to enjoy."
Subject to planning permission and
regulatory consents, detailed design,
construction and commissioning work, it
is expected the distilleries will be in
production by 2020.
Diageo are considering launching 12 year
old whiskies from both distilleries so
if that is the case it will be at least
2032 before we see any new Port Ellen or
Brora whiskies released, meanwhile you
will find some forever rarer whisky from
the original distilleries available from
specialist online whisky shops such as
Master of
Malt
and
The Whisky Exchange
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