Port Ellen 21 Years Old 1980 Sestante (Silver Seal)

A Port Ellen single malt, selected and bottled by Silver Seal, aged 21 year old, from 1980 and bottled at 43%. The outturn was 420 bottles. 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. Its dwindling stock became some of the most collectable in Scotch.

The barley was heavily peated, dried over smoke from Islay's own peat, made in onion shaped stills on soft Islay water, for a peat reek tempered by salt and citrus. An ex-Bourbon hogshead held it, the soft oak letting the Islay character lead. Two decades let the phenols ease into a rounded, coastal smoke. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. The peat came from Islay's own Duich Moss, localising the whole character. For years the spirit went quietly into blends before its single malt became a legend.

Reduced to 43%, it is mellow. Embers of Islay peat carries maritime salt and citrus, with a touch of vanilla and cream from the wood. Beneath the peat run lemon, wax and a mineral note. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a collectable relic of a cult Islay name.