Port Ellen 24 Years Old 1982 Cask #PDA 359 (Part des Anges)

Part des Anges selected this Port Ellen matured to 24 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask PDA 359 and bottled at 58.7%. A release of 562 bottles. Port Ellen, founded in 1825 on the Kildalton shore of Islay, was brought to a halt in 1983. Its reputation only grew as the casks ran down.

Peat smoke from Islay's bogs dried the malt to its smoky pitch, distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills on Leorin Lochs water, yielding a clean, mineral smoke with a citric lift. Maturation in Oloroso sherry laid smoked dried fruit over the peat. Well past twenty years the peat has mellowed to soft embers, the malt grown waxy and elegant. Coastal warehousing lends a saline, maritime note as the spirit breathes by the sea. The casks were filled before the stills fell silent in 1983.

At a natural 58.7% it is powerful and oily. The Oloroso brings smoked fig, raisin and walnut, and drifting Islay peat smoke carries salted citrus and a soft wax, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. Soft embers and brine sit behind the smoke. It fades on smoke, citrus and a saline tang. This is a revered Islay malt from a distillery silent for forty years.