Port Ellen 23 Years Old 1982 M&H Cask Selection (Taste Still)

A Port Ellen single malt, selected and bottled by Taste Still, a 23 year old Islay malt, from 1982 and bottled at 55.7%. Only 240 bottles were released. Port Ellen, founded in 1825 on the Kildalton shore of Islay, was brought to a halt in 1983. Its whisky grew into a legend after closure.

The barley was heavily peated, dried over smoke from Islay's own peat, distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills on Leorin Lochs water, yielding a clean, mineral smoke with a citric lift. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. Decades have eased the peat to a soft reek over beeswax and old oak. Coastal warehousing lends a saline, maritime note as the spirit breathes by the sea. The drum maltings built in 1973 still turn out barley for Islay today. Three Islay distilleries proved one too many, and this was the one to close.

At a natural 55.7% it is powerful and oily. Drifting Islay peat smoke carries maritime salt and citrus, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. Beneath the peat run lemon, wax and a mineral note. It fades on smoke, citrus and a saline tang. This is a revered Islay malt from a distillery silent for forty years.