Port Ellen 26 Years Old 1983 Old & Rare The Platinum Selection (Douglas Laing)

Douglas Laing bottled this Port Ellen single malt, a 26 year old Islay malt, from 1983 and bottled at 56.1%. The outturn was 203 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. Its last casks were laid down in 1983, a finite legacy ever since.

Drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, to build a smoke at once oily, briny and refined. Refill ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, the wood Port Ellen is most often found in. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. The slow loss of the angel's share, a percent or two each year, has concentrated the liquid over decades. 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 cask strength 56.1% it is muscular. Lemon zest and coastal salt ride on embers of Islay peat, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. It is structured and a touch austere, the refill oak keeping it lean. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 closure.