Port Ellen 30 Years Old 1979 Old & Rare The Platinum Selection (Douglas Laing)

Single malt Port Ellen, an independent Douglas Laing bottling, a 30 year old Islay malt, from 1979 and bottled at 52.6%. The outturn was 217 bottles. The legendary Port Ellen, opened in 1825 on the windswept south of Islay, was shut by DCL in 1983. The Port Ellen maltings survived the closure and still supply Islay.

The malt was peated hard over Islay peat cut from Duich Moss, giving a coastal smoke threaded with lemon. The spirit was distilled in copper pot stills with water from the lochs. Refill bourbon wood held the spirit, flattering its citric, oily smoke. Long ageing leaves a mellow smoke, a lanolin wax and a maritime depth. Long, cool maturation in Islay warehouses lets the smoke knit slowly with the oak. Salt air off the Atlantic worked into the casks through long island maturation. Collectors chase these closed era bottles as some of the most prized in Scotch.

At a hearty 52.6% it carries real weight. A gentle vanilla note, while an elegant, structured smoke carries oily lemon, brine and a lanolin wax. It is elegant and deep, the peat folded into the malt. The finish runs oily, saline and slow. This is one of the great ghost whiskies of Islay.