Port Ellen 28 Years Old 1979 Old & Rare The Platinum Selection (Douglas Laing)

A Port Ellen single malt, selected and bottled by Douglas Laing, a 28 year old from 1979 and bottled at 53.9%. A release of 266 bottles. Port Ellen was dating to 1825 on the Kildalton shore of Islay and brought to a halt in 1983. Diageo's Special Releases turned it into a cult name.

The barley was heavily peated, dried over smoke from Islay's own peat, distilled in onion shaped copper pot stills on Leorin Lochs water, yielding a clean, mineral smoke with a citric lift. A refill American oak cask held it, keeping the distillery character to the fore. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. Refill ex-Bourbon oak, having given its sharpest notes to an earlier fill, lets the peat and the spirit lead. Its warehouses by the bay, built under John Ramsay, still stand as listed buildings. The peat came from Islay's own Duich Moss, localising the whole character.

At a natural 53.9% it is powerful and oily. A smoky, mineral note carries salted citrus and a soft wax, with a whisper of coconut from the cask. Soft embers and brine sit behind the smoke. Salt, smoke and wax draw out the close. This is a finite pour from Islay's most mourned distillery.