Port Ellen 21 Years Old 1980 Missing (Silver Seal)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Silver Seal, a 21 year old from 1980 and bottled at 43%. Just 312 bottles were filled. The legendary Port Ellen, opened in 1825 on the windswept south of Islay, was shut by DCL in 1983. The Port Ellen maltings survived the closure and still supply Islay.

Islay peat dried the malt, lending the spirit its coastal smoke, giving a coastal smoke threaded with lemon. The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills with water from the lochs. Maturation in a refill ex-Bourbon barrel kept the malt lean and smoky. Past twenty years the smoke mellows and the oily, waxy texture builds. The peat phenols fade only slowly, which is why even very old Port Ellen keeps its smoke. 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.

At 43% it is soft, smoky and oily. A gentle vanilla note, while a refined peat reek carries oily lemon, brine and a lanolin wax. It is elegant and deep, the peat folded into the malt. The close is slow, soft peat over wax. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of Islay.