Port Ellen 16 Years Old 1980 (Connoisseurs Choice)

Gordon & MacPhail selected this Port Ellen at 16 year old, from 1980 and bottled at 40%. Port Ellen, first founded in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore, was silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. Its dwindling stock became some of the most collectable in Scotch.

Peat smoke from Islay's bogs dried the malt to its smoky pitch, drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, for the refined smoke that made its name. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, the wood holding back so the peat speaks. Past twenty years the smoke mellows and the oily, waxy texture builds. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. Three Islay distilleries proved one too many, and this was the one to close. Its smoke leans citric and mineral rather than tarry and medicinal. The casks were filled before the stills fell silent in 1983.

At 40% it is soft, smoky and oily. A coastal peat smoke carries maritime salt and citrus, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. Beneath the peat run lemon, wax and a mineral note. It closes long, smoky and maritime. This is a revered Islay malt from a distillery silent for forty years.