Port Ellen 25 Years Old 1983 Cask #DMG 4465 (Douglas McGibbon)

From Douglas McGibbon comes this Port Ellen, aged 25 year old, from 1983, drawn from cask DMG 4465 and bottled at 46%. Established in 1825 on the Kildalton shore of Islay, Port Ellen 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. An ex-Bourbon cask shaped it, soft refill oak that lets the smoke lead. Well past twenty years the peat has mellowed to soft embers, the malt grown waxy and elegant. Refill wood flatters Port Ellen, holding back the vanilla so the smoke and citrus speak. The closed era spirit is finite, and every bottle drawn is one fewer left. The spirit breathed sea air through long maturation on the island. Walter Frederick Campbell laid out the village of Port Ellen in 1821.

At 46% it is supple and elegant. Crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on drifting Islay peat smoke, with a thread of vanilla from the bourbon wood. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. It fades on smoke, citrus and a saline tang. This is spirit from the lost years of Port Ellen, finite for good.