Port Ellen 26 Years Old 1983 Cask #DL 5441 (Douglas Laing)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing matured to 26 year old, from 1983, drawn from cask DL 5441 and bottled at 50%. Only 610 bottles were released. Port Ellen stood on the windswept south of Islay from its founding in 1825 until it was shut by DCL in 1983. Annual Special Releases through Diageo sealed its mythic status.

Islay peat dried the malt, lending the spirit its coastal smoke, giving a coastal smoke threaded with lemon. The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills with water from the lochs. 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. Long, cool maturation in Islay warehouses lets the smoke knit slowly with the oak. The refined, citric smoke set it apart from its more medicinal Islay neighbours. Laid down before 1983, this is spirit from a distillery that stood silent for forty years.

At a full 50% it is concentrated and oily. Gentle oak vanilla beneath the smoke, while a briny peat smoke carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. Deep and elegant, the smoke lingers long. This is prized stock from a distillery reborn only in 2024.