Port Ellen 15th Release

This Port Ellen, an official release,, aged 32 year old, from 1983 and bottled at 53.9%. The outturn was 2964 bottles. Opened in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore, Port Ellen was silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. Its last casks were laid down in 1983, a finite legacy ever since.

Drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, to build a smoke at once oily, briny and refined. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. Three decades and more leave a fragile, elegant smoke and a deep waxy body. Refill wood flatters Port Ellen, holding back the vanilla so the smoke and citrus speak. The refined, citric smoke set it apart from its more medicinal Islay neighbours. Laid down before 1983, this is spirit from a distillery that stood silent for forty years. Its cult grew with every passing year the warehouses stayed quiet.

Undiluted at 53.9%, it is deep and smoky. Crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on embers of Islay peat, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is spirit from the lost years of Port Ellen, finite for good.