Port Ellen 12th Release

An official Port Ellen single malt, a 32 year old Islay malt, from 1979 and bottled at 52.5%. A release of 2964 bottles. The legendary Port Ellen, built in 1825 on Islay's rocky southern seaboard, was mothballed for good in 1983. The Port Ellen maltings survived the closure and still supply Islay.

The malt was peated hard over Islay peat cut from Duich Moss, for a smoke more graceful than its Islay neighbours. The spirit was worked through copper pot stills by the sea. A European oak cask added a spiced, dried fruit frame to the peat. Very old Port Ellen turns ethereal, the smoke faded to embers over honeyed oak. Long, cool maturation in Islay warehouses lets the smoke knit slowly with the oak. 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 52.5%, undiluted, it is bold and smoky. The European oak adds a spiced, dried fruit edge, and light oak sweetness underneath, while a gently medicinal smoke carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. Embers and sea salt see out a long finish. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of Islay.