Port Ellen 40 Years Old 1982 Cask #DL 15460 (XOP)

From Douglas Laing comes this Port Ellen, a 40 year old Islay malt, from 1982, drawn from cask DL 15460 and bottled at 53.7%. The outturn was 175 bottles. The legendary Port Ellen, opened in 1825 on the Kildalton shore of Islay, was brought to a halt in 1983. Most of its make once went to blends, but its single malt became the prize.

Distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills on Leorin Lochs water, yielding the poised, maritime smoke of classic Port Ellen. Maturation in a refill ex-Bourbon barrel kept the malt lean and smoky. At such an age the peat is soft and distant, the malt waxy, oily and profound. Refill wood flatters Port Ellen, holding back the vanilla so the smoke and citrus speak. Each Diageo Special Release thinned a stock that could never be replaced. The maltings that survived the closure still supply barley across Islay today.

At 53.7%, undiluted, it is bold and smoky. Crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on embers of Islay peat, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 closure.