Port Ellen 18 Years Old 1981 McGibbon’s Provenance (Douglas McGibbon)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas McGibbon at 18 year old, from 1981 and bottled at 43%. Port Ellen, first founded in 1825 on Islay's rocky southern seaboard, was mothballed for good in 1983. Annual Special Releases through Diageo sealed its mythic status.

Islay peat dried the malt, lending the spirit its coastal smoke, for a smoke more graceful than its Islay neighbours. The spirit was worked through copper pot stills by the sea. Maturation in a refill ex-Bourbon barrel kept the malt lean and smoky. Around two decades in oak knit the smoke with the wood into a maritime, citrus edged malt. The long sleep concentrates the smoke and builds a lanolin, waxy texture. The old warehouses still hold the last of the closed era spirit. Port Ellen was one of three Diageo Islay distilleries, the one judged surplus in 1983. Its warehouses by the bay, built under John Ramsay, still stand as listed buildings.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow. Soft coconut and vanilla from the oak, while a refined peat reek carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. The close is slow, soft peat over wax. This is a piece of Islay legend in the glass.