Port Ellen 32 Years Old 1982 Cask #DL 10568 (XOP)

This Port Ellen was from the independent bottler Douglas Laing, a 32 year old from 1982, drawn from cask DL 10568 and bottled at 53.9%. A release of 115 bottles. Port Ellen was first founded in 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen and closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. A new Port Ellen opened in 2024, while bottles like this remain from the old.

Heavily peated malt, kilned over Islay peat, set the smoky tone and run through copper pot stills on soft island water, for the austere, structured peat the malt is known for. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. Very old Port Ellen turns ethereal, the smoke faded to embers over honeyed oak. Port Ellen was matured largely in refill casks, which sharpen the smoke and leave the malt a touch austere.

Bottled at a cask strength 53.9%, it is intense. A gently medicinal smoke runs over lemon peel and sea brine, with light oak sweetness underneath. The mouthfeel is oily, the smoke carried on a waxy body. Embers and sea salt see out a long finish. This is a vanishing dram from Islay's most storied closed distillery.