Port Ellen 19 Years Old 1977 (Scott’s Selection)

From Scott's Selection comes this Port Ellen, a 19 year old from 1977 and bottled at 58.9%. The legendary Port Ellen, opened in 1825 on the Kildalton shore of Islay, was brought to a halt in 1983. Its last casks were laid down in 1983, a finite legacy ever since.

Distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills on Leorin Lochs water, yielding the poised, maritime smoke of classic Port Ellen. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. Past twenty years the smoke mellows and the oily, waxy texture builds. Maturation in old refill casks keeps the distillery character front and centre. Each Diageo Special Release thinned a stock that could never be replaced. The maltings that survived the closure still supply barley across Islay today. Salt air off the Atlantic worked into the casks through long island maturation.

At its natural 58.9% it is rich and briny. Lemon zest and coastal salt ride on a coastal peat smoke, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. It is structured and a touch austere, the refill oak keeping it lean. It closes long, smoky and maritime. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 closure.