Port Ellen 28 Years Old 1982 Cask #2033 (Wilson & Morgan)

Wilson & Morgan selected this Port Ellen, aged 28 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask 2033 and bottled at 60%. A release of 534 bottles. Port Ellen was first founded in 1825 beside the bay at Port Ellen on Islay and closed in 1983 and long mourned. It became the most lamented of all the lost distilleries.

Peat smoke from Islay's bogs dried the malt to its smoky pitch, made in onion shaped stills on soft Islay water, for a peat reek tempered by salt and citrus. An ex-Bourbon hogshead held it, the soft oak letting the Islay character lead. Well past twenty years the peat has mellowed to soft embers, the malt grown waxy and elegant. Time in the cask rounds the spirit, the smoke settling into a soft, waxy depth. The casks were filled before the stills fell silent in 1983. Diageo invested heavily to raise the distillery again two centuries on. Long island ageing lends a saline thread to the deep smoke.

At 60%, undiluted, it is bold and smoky. A soft maritime smoke carries salted citrus and a soft wax, with a whisper of coconut from the cask. Soft embers and brine sit behind the smoke. A waxy, gently medicinal finish lingers long. This is a finite pour from Islay's most mourned distillery.