Port Ellen 26 Years Old 1979 Cask #DL 2856 (Douglas Laing)

A Port Ellen single malt, selected and bottled by Douglas Laing, a 26 year old Islay malt, from 1979, drawn from cask DL 2856 and bottled at 50%. The outturn was 602 bottles. The legendary Port Ellen, built in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore, was silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. It became the most lamented of all the lost distilleries.

The barley was heavily peated, dried over smoke from Islay's own peat, drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, for the refined smoke that made its name. An ex-Bourbon cask shaped it, soft refill oak that lets the smoke lead. Decades have eased the peat to a soft reek over beeswax and old oak. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. 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 natural 50% it is powerful and oily. Embers of Islay peat carries salted citrus and a soft wax, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. Soft embers and brine sit behind the smoke. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 closure.