Port Ellen 29 Years Old 1982 Cask #11406 (Alambic Classique)

Bottled by Alambic Classique, this Port Ellen, aged 29 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask 11406 and bottled at 57.4%. 62 bottles in all. Opened in 1825 on Islay's rocky southern seaboard, Port Ellen was mothballed for good in 1983. Port Ellen distilled again from 2024, yet this is spirit from the closed era.

The barley was kilned over peat to around thirty five phenol parts per million and worked through copper pot stills by the sea, to lend the elegant, lightly medicinal smoke of the south shore. Refill bourbon wood held the spirit, flattering its citric, oily smoke. At this age the smoke turns gentle and oily, the spirit deep, briny and refined. Years by the Atlantic give the malt its briny, oily weight. Three Islay distilleries proved one too many, and this was the one to close. Its smoke leans citric and mineral rather than tarry and medicinal.

At its natural 57.4% it is rich and briny. An elegant, structured smoke runs over lemon peel and sea brine, with a gentle vanilla note. The mouthfeel is oily, the smoke carried on a waxy body. The finish runs oily, saline and slow. This is stock from the legendary closed era, ever scarcer.