Port Ellen 24 Years Old 1982 Cask #LD 3529 (Douglas of Drumlanrig)

Single malt Port Ellen, an independent Douglas of Drumlanrig bottling at 24 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask LD 3529 and bottled at 49%. Port Ellen, dating to 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen, was closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. The Port Ellen maltings survived the closure and still supply Islay.

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. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. The peat phenols fade only slowly, which is why even very old Port Ellen keeps its smoke. 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 full 49% it is concentrated and oily. Soft coconut and vanilla from the oak, while a refined peat reek carries oily lemon, brine and a lanolin wax. It is elegant and deep, the peat folded into the malt. The close is slow, soft peat over wax. This is a piece of Islay legend in the glass.