Port Ellen 21 Years Old 1979 The Old Malt Cask (Douglas Laing)

Douglas Laing bottled this Port Ellen single malt, a 21 year old Islay malt, from 1979 and bottled at 50%. The outturn was 318 bottles. The legendary Port Ellen, established in 1825 beside the bay at Port Ellen on Islay, was closed in 1983 and long mourned. Its last casks were laid down in 1983, a finite legacy ever since.

Made in onion shaped stills on soft Islay water, building the oily, briny style it is loved for. An ex-Bourbon cask shaped it, soft refill oak that lets the smoke lead. Two decades let the phenols ease into a rounded, coastal smoke. Maturation in old refill casks keeps the distillery character front and centre. The closed years only deepened the legend around the malt. A whisky measured now in dwindling casks rather than fresh spirit. Smoke, salt and citrus mark it out from its Islay neighbours. Each bottling is a finite draw on a stock that ended in 1983.

At cask strength 50% it is muscular. Lemon zest and coastal salt ride on embers of Islay peat, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. It is structured and a touch austere, the refill oak keeping it lean. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 closure.