My First Port Ellen:)

In celebration of having an article published on the Malt Maniacs, I felt it would be a good idea to try a I have always wanted to try. The distillery of Port Ellen has a sense of mystique and legend about it. An almost tragic history with long periods of closure (a near 40 year period that started in 1929 and that final closure in 1983) is mixed with what is undoubtedly great whisky has made Port Ellen expressions extremely sought after now.

As mentioned, Port Ellen distillery closed its doors in 1983 and it has not opened again since. The maltings are used to malt barley for some of the Islay distilleries but the stills are no longer firing, and it is seems that it wouldn't be anytime soon, if at all. The fact that it is on Islay does add to the aura of this distillery (and of course the accompanying sadness that it is now closed) as well. But as I am always quick to say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and Port Ellen is one hell of a pudding. Great review sites/publications like the Malt Maniacs and Jim Murray's Bible are in full agreement that Port Ellen is responsible for whiskies of a consistently high quality. Yes of course there are bottlings that turn out pretty bad, but in general Port Ellen's whiskies are of a high standard. For an example, check out Port Ellen expressions from the late 1960s, Diageo's Rare and Auld Malts Series and the 10 different releases of Port Ellen that Diageo has released over the years.

The expression I chose to try is from Independent Bottler Douglas Laing, who to my knowledge seems to have a ton of Port Ellen stocks left. Their numerous Old Malt Cask expressions have ensured that at the very least, there is still enough Port Ellen to go around, though a simple case of Demand and Supply shows that sadly, this supply will only continue dwindling. So how did it taste? Let's have a look

Name: Port Ellen 26YO
Distillery: Port Ellen (Islay)
Bottler: Douglas Laing (Old Malt Cask Series)
Type: Single Malt Scotch
Age Statement: 26YO
Vintage: 1982
Cask Ref: 5389 
Alc/Vol: 50%


Nose: Extremely creamy, salty and smoky. It smells almost like a cream base pizza that has come out of a really hot wood oven. The smoke is mellow, and so is the whole nose in general (21)


Taste/Palate: Ahh... so this is the classic Port Ellen. Extremely rich, with a sweet ashiness, a nice rich fruitiness and powerful white pepper. The smokiness is sweet, akin to a nice rich honey glaze on a piece of meat. Great stuff (23)


Finish: Sweet sooty notes of honey but the ashy mouthfeel dominates (22)


Overall: Rounded and nice, this is a great way to discover Port Ellen. The only sad thing for me was that I knew that each sip of this dram I took meant one less sip of Port Ellen left for the world to savour. (21) 87/100


Found at: The Auld Alliance

I was also given a small sample of single cask whisky from the Miyagikou distillery in Japan from bar owner Emmanuel Dron. It is great stuff, and is only available at the distillery, I hope to go there soon! Overall though, this was a great dram. No notes though! Sometimes what matters is that you savour it without over thinking:)

Slainte!