Port Ellen 23yo
From WhIsKi
Port Ellen 23yo
The Port Ellen distillery closed in 1983, though the warehouse on Islay is still used by Diageo and the maltings supplies to the other Islay distilleries.
There are a number of independent bottlings. We tried one from Douglas Laing's "The Old Malt Cask" series, distilled in March 1983 and bottled in October 2006 from a refill butt (DL Ref. 2042) that produced 549 bottles. This in not cask strength, but higher than normal at 50%. £100 at the Whiskey Shop.
The nose is typically Islay, with peat being the dominant term. I noted a lack of salt and seaweed but there was disagreement.
The palette was simple and balanced with an oiliness and sweetness to coat the tongue. Notably, orange citrus fruit lingered.
The legendary, almost mythical status of Port Ellen within the ROE Whisky Society, not to mention the price, makes an unbiased tasting difficult, as was noted pointedly by Kate. This bottle was destined for a high ranking on TheCoolWall before it was opened. Nevertheless, I feel confident that it was a fine dram, doing only what it had to do (be a smooth Islay) without fanfare or complexity.
And it really did go down well.
