We believe in barley, in its origins and its provenance. To us, barley is the essence of single malt whisky, a living expression of the land that nurtured it. Many other distillers source it from global markets at the best price – a mere commodity. In 2004, backing our drive for the ultimate Islay” Islay single malt, farmer Raymond Stewart grew barley for us at Kentraw, just a mile from the distillery. His harvest was then malted and distilled separately – we believe the first time ever an Islay single malt had been made exclusively from 100% Islay grown grain. Today, the heavily peated malt for this new dram has been created from harvests brought home from three Islay farms, by Raymond and his farming colleagues Neil McLellan and Raymond Fletcher. The resulting rich, aromatic Port Charlotte wash was trickle distilled in our Victorian stillhouse during 2011. Moving forward we now have 19 farmers who have made the commitment to grow for us and to whom we are equally committed. This Islay Barley is who we are. This is where we’re from.

This Port Charlotte dram was distilled in 2012 using barely from eight Islay farmers: Ian Torrance at Starchmill, Hunter Jackson at Cruach, Ian Mckerrell at Island Farm, Raymond Fletcher at Dunlossit Estate, Donald and Andrew Jones at Coull, Mark French at Rockside, Alastair Torrance at Mulindry and Raymond Stewart at Sunderland.