Port Ellen 25 Years Old 1979 Cask #DL 669 (Douglas Laing)

Douglas Laing selected this Port Ellen matured to 25 year old, from 1979, drawn from cask DL 669 and bottled at 57.1%. Only 302 bottles were released. Port Ellen stood beside the bay at Port Ellen on Islay from its founding in 1825 until it was closed in 1983 and long mourned. Its whisky grew into a legend after closure.

Peat smoke from Islay's bogs dried the malt to its smoky pitch, made in onion shaped stills on soft Islay water, for a peat reek tempered by salt and citrus. Maturation in a refill ex-Bourbon barrel kept the malt lean and smoky. 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 2024 revival rebuilt the stills, but casks like this remain from the original distillery. Few lost distilleries are mourned as deeply, or bottled as devotedly, as Port Ellen.

At its natural 57.1% it is rich and briny. A soft maritime smoke carries maritime salt and citrus, with a touch of vanilla and cream from the wood. Beneath the peat run lemon, wax and a mineral note. A waxy, gently medicinal finish lingers long. This is a collectable relic of a cult Islay name.