Inside Portintruan – Islay’s Latest Whisky Distillery

Smoky, briny, earthy, medicinal, and herbal. If I were to suggest these tasting notes to you, which whisky region do you think I’d be talking about? Yes, of course it’s Islay.

Islay is considered by many to be the spiritual home of Scotch. It’s a rugged, isolated, picturesque whisky region renowned for its dramatic coastline, its moody skies, and of course, its heavily peated whisky.

With names such as Ardbeg, Lagavulin, and Laphroaig, the single malts produced on this gorgeous island are like nothing found anywhere else. Located just off of Scotland’s west coast, this inner Hebridean island is a whisky tourism hub and is home to some of the most recognisable names in Scotch whisky production.

With nine operational distilleries across the island, there are several more distilleries planned for the region. One distillery, which has seen some very testing times during its construction, is Portintruan, and it is this very distillery I want to talk to you about today.

Islay’s Newest Distillery Where the Past Meets the Future

With cautiously optimistic plans to open its doors later this year, Portintruan (pronounced ‘Port-nah-truan’) looks set to be Port Ellen’s latest whisky distillery on Islay’s southern coast.

The distillery is currently in its final stages of construction, and, providing there are no more obstacles or stumbling blocks (I’ll look at those in more detail a little later on), it could very well welcome its first visitors in late spring, early summer of 2026.

There’s a lot to get excited about the more you learn about this distillery. They aim to produce their whisky using a combination of traditional methods in keeping with the island, along with modern technology. What I really like though, is the fact that they’re placing such a strong emphasis on sustainability. They’ve pledged to be as green as possible and have worked closed with the Islay Energy Trust to help them achieve their goals. Good on them!

Owned by Elixir Distillers, the distillery will have its own floor maltings, a visitor centre, an educational centre, a restaurant (complete with sea views) and even an experimental distillery which will focus on other spirits, including rum. The distillery workers and their families will also be well looked after, as there will be 14 on-site homes built just for them.

In Safe Hands

With the distillery now in its final stages of development, there is hope that it will be able to begin distilling in late spring/early summer. The goal is a whopping 1 million litres per year.

While some believe autumn is looking more likely what is for certain is, when you look at the names leading this project, you know the distillery is in very safe hands.

Taking the role of Distillery Manager for example, will be Georgie Crawford. Georgie joined Elixir Distillers in 2021 to serve as Distillery Manager for Islay’s newest whisky producing site. Georgie is an Islay native born and bred, so she certainly knows the terroir, the local area, and of course, the business itself.

Having worked for Diageo for close to two decades, Georgie also knows Islay whisky as she previously served as Manager at Lagavulin. She has, in fact, been in the whisky biz since 2002 where she served at The Vaults in Edinburgh with the Scotch Malt Whisky Society. Since then, she has worked for names such as Talisker, Teaninich, Glen Ord, and of course, Lagavulin.

Taking the role as Head of Whisky Creation is Oliver Chilton. Oliver has quite the palate when it comes to whisky and what he doesn’t know about cask selection isn’t worth knowing. Oliver has served as Head Blender for Elixir Distillers and has been in the business for more than two decades.

In autumn of 2025, former Visitor Centre Manager for Ardbeg Distillery Jackie Thomson, also joined the team. because of her previous role, Jackie will serve as Visitor Experience Manager. Jackie is not only incredibly knowledgeable when it comes to Islay, Islay whisky production, and the drinks business in general, but she is also one of the friendliest people you could ever wish to meet. Her warm hospitality, combined with her past experience, will surely make her perfect for the role.

Overcoming Obstacles

I’m excited to see what’s ahead for Portintruan Distillery, particularly considering the fact that construction almost fell through right at the last hurdle.

Planning permission for the distillery was granted in 2020, and construction began almost immediately afterwards. The construction company tasked with building the distillery was ISG. For the next four years, construction went largely without a hitch, and even appeared to be ahead of schedule at one point. Like a storm blowing in off the Atlantic however, trouble was brewing and soon the entire future of the distillery would be in doubt.

Initially, there were hopes that the distillery would be completed and open to the public in 2024. With how things were progressing, that goal looked more than achievable. On September 20th, 2024 however, an enormous spanner was thrown into the works when ISG, along with all 8 of its subsidiaries, entered administration.

Citing issues such as rising inflation, sky high energy prices, a lack of funds, and having had a number of large-scale projects fail previously, ISG were forced to enter administration and ceased trading with immediate effect.

For a while, it looked as if plans for the construction of Portintruan would have to be abandoned. Fortunately, Glasgow based company Morris & Spottiswood would be handed the reigns and would be tasked with adding the final touches to the distillery. They resumed work in spring of 2025 and helped to get the project back on track.

Portintruan is currently months away from opening and, barring any further logistical problems, looks set to welcome its first guests in late spring/early summer 2026. This is one I’ll be watching very closely and can’t wait to visit.

If you’d like to learn more about your favourite whiskies, or simply treat yourself to a dram or two in the process, head on over to GreatDrams.com and take a look at the diverse selection of unique whiskies we currently have in stock.

With an impressive selection of limited-edition, rare, and award-winning whisky, as well as heaps of whisky info on our blog, it’s the perfect spot for any whisky lovers out there.

Photo Credit: Portintruan

Tags: IslayPortintruanWhisky distillery

Greg

My name is Greg, and I’m a brand strategy consultant, writer, speaker, host and judge specialising in premium spirits. My mission is to experience, share and inspire with everything great about whisky, whiskey, gin, beer and fine dining through my writing, my brand building and my whisky tastings.