The Port Charlotte distillery had been open from 1829-1929 and was closed until recently. Bruichladdich acquired the location and is planning to reopen. For a while now they have been making scotch under the Port Charlotte name. It shows how the scotch market has changed when Bruichladdich which only has been reopened since 2001 already has started another. You can debate the value of how you could possibly recreate such an old distillery's scotch, or even the authenticity of having Bruichladdich making Port Charlotte before it reopened, but you cannot deny that having another peaty scotch from beloved Islay is a good thing, or the brilliance of taking mid-priced Bruichladdich and charging twice as much for it as Port Charlotte.
What a contrast from a few decades ago where most of the scotch was sold for blends. Now there are 9 distilleries on Islay, where in 2004 there were only 7. It would be surprising if we do not continue to see more distilleries open. I think we will all be prepared for it though when it takes 8 years or more before the first cask will be ready for bottling.
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