How important is provenance/terroir to you?

I agree. I like it when producers give information in detail about There bottlings. It's also good conversation and increase Interest. I have a very detailed port Charlotte bottled for park Avenue liquids NYC. That explains even warehouse, shelf, Barley, temperature, and tons of other things. It's an micro Providence label. Well I added temperature but you get What I mean.

I think the chaps at Bruichladdich has yet to prove that it truly makes a difference. I've sniffed a few of the different barly whiskies they make, and whilst they felt a bit different, they have to do more than just marketing the names to get a solid footing. I believe there used to be a set of three different 20 cL bottles - whatever happened to that? Why not make a box of samples and let the whisky drinkers be the judges?

Not really important for me, but I suspect most of us are interested in knowing as much as possible about what we drink. I enjoy reading on the tube/cardboard box or bottle, and if the barley is produced locally (or organic), I consider that bonus information.

Regarding Bruchladdich, I stole this directly from their site:

"We believe that Islay whisky should have an authenticity derived from where it is distilled and where it is matured... From the philosophies of those who distil it.

A sense of place, of terroir that speaks of the land, the barley and water from which it was made, and of the human soul that gave it life."

I already said it isn't important to me, but I can appreciate their stance on the matter.

To me it doesn't really matter, for distilleries it might be a nice gesture to support the local farming communities. With the large quantities of barley that are needed on a daily basis to keep the distilleries running, the local farmers' output is insufficient. FOr instance, if you ever visit Islay you'll immediatly notice that the barley fields are rather scarce. There are some near Kilchoman at the Rockside farm. But most of the terrain is unsuited for the cultivation of grains.

The location of the distilleries was often chosen for their proximity to an adequate soft water source, peat bogs or to keep the nosy government out. Barley could easily be imported from the Lowlands

I am not very concerned about terroir as pertains to the growing of the grains, but I do consider the quality of the grain used and the quality of the handling of the grain used, to be extremely important, and quite variable. Some barley is 'meh', while some other barley is delicious.

No doubt there is a whole science pertaining to the differences among the flavours produced from the different strains of barley used for making whisky. That is a science to which I have little access, as of yet.