Port Ellen 27 Years Old 1983 Cask #LD 6443 (Douglas of Drumlanrig)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas of Drumlanrig, aged 27 year old, from 1983, drawn from cask LD 6443 and bottled at 46%. 194 bottles in all. Opened in 1825 on Islay's rocky southern seaboard, Port Ellen 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 bourbon wood held the spirit, flattering its citric, oily smoke. Well past twenty years the peat has mellowed to soft embers, the malt grown waxy and elegant. The long sleep concentrates the smoke and builds a lanolin, waxy texture. Each bottling is a finite draw on a stock that ended in 1983. The old warehouses still hold the last of the closed era spirit.

At an approachable 46% it is refined. A light vanilla from the refill oak, while a graceful Islay smoke carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. The finish smoulders gently, oily and long. This is stock from the legendary closed era, ever scarcer.