Port Ellen 24 Years Old 1982 Cask #PDA 365 (Part des Anges)

Bottled by Part des Anges, this Port Ellen, a 24 year old from 1982, drawn from cask PDA 365 and bottled at 58.6%. The legendary Port Ellen, established in 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen, was closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. The distillery was reborn in 2024, but these casks date from its legendary years.

The barley was kilned over peat to around thirty five phenol parts per million and run through copper pot stills on soft island water, for the austere, structured peat the malt is known for. An ex-Bourbon hogshead held it, the soft oak letting the Islay character lead. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. Decades in oak soften the phenols, turning sharp peat reek into mellow embers. Diageo invested heavily to raise the distillery again two centuries on. Long island ageing lends a saline thread to the deep smoke.

Bottled at a cask strength 58.6%, it is intense. A refined peat reek runs over lemon peel and sea brine, with a gentle vanilla note. The mouthfeel is oily, the smoke carried on a waxy body. The close is slow, soft peat over wax. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of Islay.