Port Ellen was founded in 1825 by A. K. Mackay & Company on the Kildaton south coast of Islay. The Laird Campbell was also instrumental in the establishment of the distillery, as he was the highest-ranking clan official on the Isle at the time. After its operational lifetime, the proprietor of Port Ellen, diageo, released a number of official bottlings. All of these official expressions, called Annual Releases, were from older casks, ranging from a 20 year old to a 35 year old, with an official bottling of almost every single age in between. Since the closure of the distillery almost thirty years ago, Port Ellen has continued to prosper, general opinion goes that Port Ellen is one of the greatest of all of the lost distilleries of Scotland. One of only 2988 bottled in 2011.