Port Ellen 26 Years Old 1982 Cask #DL 4808 (Douglas Laing)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing, a 26 year old Islay malt, from 1982, drawn from cask DL 4808 and bottled at 50%. The outturn was 731 bottles. The legendary Port Ellen, built in 1825 on Islay's rocky southern seaboard, was mothballed for good in 1983. Annual Special Releases through Diageo sealed its mythic status.

Islay peat dried the malt, lending the spirit its coastal smoke, for a smoke more graceful than its Islay neighbours. The spirit was worked through copper pot stills by the sea. Refill ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, the wood Port Ellen is most often found in. Decades have eased the peat to a soft reek over beeswax and old oak. The long sleep concentrates the smoke and builds a lanolin, waxy texture. Its cult grew with every passing year the warehouses stayed quiet. The closed era spirit is finite, and every bottle drawn is one fewer left.

At a full 50% it is concentrated and oily. A gentle vanilla note, while an elegant, structured smoke carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. The finish runs oily, saline and slow. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of Islay.