Port Ellen 22 Years Old 1979 Cask #5143 (Signatory)

Single malt Port Ellen, an independent Signatory Vintage bottling, a 22 year old from 1979, drawn from cask 5143 and bottled at 43%. Only 348 bottles were released. The legendary Port Ellen, established in 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen, was closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. Annual Special Releases through Diageo sealed its mythic status.

The malt was peated hard over Islay peat cut from Duich Moss, giving the elegant, structured smoke that set Port Ellen apart. The spirit was run through copper pot stills on soft island water. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. Well past twenty years the peat has mellowed to soft embers, the malt grown waxy and elegant. The long sleep concentrates the smoke and builds a lanolin, waxy texture. The casks were filled before the stills fell silent in 1983. Diageo invested heavily to raise the distillery again two centuries on.

At 43% it is smooth and elegant. A gentle vanilla note, while a refined peat reek carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. The close is slow, soft peat over wax. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of Islay.