Port Ellen 19 Years Old 1980 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Single malt Port Ellen, an independent Gordon & MacPhail bottling, aged 19 year old, from 1980 and bottled at 40%. Built in 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen, Port Ellen was closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. The Port Ellen maltings survived the closure and still supply Islay.

The malt was peated hard over Islay peat cut from Duich Moss, giving the elegant, structured smoke that set Port Ellen apart. The spirit was run through copper pot stills on soft island water. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. By this age the peat has begun to soften, settling into the oak and the brine. The peat phenols fade only slowly, which is why even very old Port Ellen keeps its smoke. John Ramsay developed the distillery through the middle of the 19th century. The drum maltings built in 1973 still turn out barley for Islay today.

At an approachable 40% it is refined. A light vanilla from the refill oak, while a graceful Islay smoke carries oily lemon, brine and a lanolin wax. It is elegant and deep, the peat folded into the malt. The finish smoulders gently, oily and long. This is stock from the legendary closed era, ever scarcer.