Port Ellen 23 Years Old 1976 Cask #4797 (Signatory)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Signatory Vintage, a 23 year old Islay malt, from 1976, drawn from cask 4797 and bottled at 55.6%. Just 296 bottles were filled. Built in 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen, Port Ellen was closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. The Port Ellen maltings survived the closure and still supply Islay.

Islay peat dried the malt, lending the spirit its coastal smoke, giving the elegant, structured smoke that set Port Ellen apart. The spirit was run through copper pot stills on soft island water. Refill bourbon wood held the spirit, flattering its citric, oily smoke. 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.

At a hearty 55.6% it carries real weight. A light vanilla from the refill oak, while a gently medicinal smoke carries oily lemon, brine and a lanolin wax. It is elegant and deep, the peat folded into the malt. Embers and sea salt see out a long finish. This is stock from the legendary closed era, ever scarcer.