Port Ellen 23 Years Old 1982 Cask #1512 (Ian Macleod)

Ian Macleod selected this Port Ellen, aged 23 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask 1512 and bottled at 47%. Only 276 bottles were released. Opened in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore, Port Ellen was silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. Its dwindling stock became some of the most collectable in Scotch.

Peat smoke from Islay's bogs dried the malt to its smoky pitch, drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, for the refined smoke that made its name. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. John Ramsay developed the distillery through the middle of the 19th century. The drum maltings built in 1973 still turn out barley for Islay today.

At a hearty 47% it carries real weight. Drifting Islay peat smoke carries maritime salt and citrus, with a thread of vanilla from the bourbon wood. Beneath the peat run lemon, wax and a mineral note. It fades on smoke, citrus and a saline tang. This is spirit from the lost years of Port Ellen, finite for good.