Port Ellen 21 Years Old 1976 Barrel Selection (Wilson & Morgan)

Wilson & Morgan bottled this Port Ellen single malt, a 21 year old from 1976 and bottled at 46%. Port Ellen stood beside the bay at Port Ellen on Islay from its founding in 1825 until it 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. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. Two decades let the phenols ease into a rounded, coastal smoke. The slow loss of the angel's share, a percent or two each year, has concentrated the liquid over decades. Salt air off the Atlantic worked into the casks through long island maturation. Collectors chase these closed era bottles as some of the most prized in Scotch. The 2024 revival rebuilt the stills, but casks like this remain from the original distillery.

At 46% it is balanced and smoky. Crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on embers of Islay peat, with a touch of vanilla and cream from the wood. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a collectable relic of a cult Islay name.