Port Ellen 26 Years Old 1982 Cask #2729 (Old Bothwell)

This Port Ellen was from the independent bottler Old Bothwell, aged 26 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask 2729 and bottled at 52%. Port Ellen stood on the windswept south of Islay from its founding in 1825 until it was shut by DCL in 1983. Diageo reopened the distillery in 2024, though stock like this comes from the original era.

Heavily peated malt, kilned over Islay peat, set the smoky tone and distilled in copper pot stills with water from the lochs, to give a maritime, citrus edged smoke quite its own. An American oak cask shaped it, lending only a light sweetness under the smoke. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. Port Ellen was matured largely in refill casks, which sharpen the smoke and leave the malt a touch austere. The spirit breathed sea air through long maturation on the island.

Undiluted at 52%, it is deep and smoky. An elegant, structured smoke runs over a waxy, briny lift, with gentle oak vanilla beneath the smoke. The texture is oily and coating, the smoke threaded with sea salt. The finish runs oily, saline and slow. This is prized stock from a distillery reborn only in 2024.