Port Ellen 19 Years Old 1971 (Connoisseurs Choice)

From Gordon & MacPhail comes this Port Ellen at 19 year old, from 1971 and bottled at 40%. Port Ellen, dating to 1825 beside the bay at Port Ellen on Islay, was closed in 1983 and long mourned. Most of its make once went to blends, but its single malt became the prize.

Made in onion shaped stills on soft Islay water, building the oily, briny style it is loved for. Refill bourbon wood held the spirit, flattering its citric, oily smoke. Past twenty years the smoke mellows and the oily, waxy texture builds. Maturation in old refill casks keeps the distillery character front and centre. Diageo invested heavily to raise the distillery again two centuries on. Long island ageing lends a saline thread to the deep smoke. The closed years only deepened the legend around the malt. A whisky measured now in dwindling casks rather than fresh spirit.

At 40% it is soft, smoky and oily. Crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on a coastal peat smoke, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. It closes long, smoky and maritime. This is a revered Islay malt from a distillery silent for forty years.