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

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing matured to 30 year old, from 1979 and bottled at 53.3%. Only 260 bottles were released. Port Ellen stood on Islay's rocky southern seaboard from its founding in 1825 until it 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. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. 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. The old warehouses still hold the last of the closed era spirit. Port Ellen was one of three Diageo Islay distilleries, the one judged surplus in 1983.

At a full 53.3% it is concentrated and oily. Gentle oak vanilla beneath the smoke, while a briny peat smoke carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. Deep and elegant, the smoke lingers long. This is prized stock from a distillery reborn only in 2024.