Port Ellen 32 Years Old 1979 Old & Rare The Platinum Selection (Douglas Laing)

This is a Port Ellen single malt, chosen and bottled by Douglas Laing at 32 year old, from 1979 and bottled at 54.8%. Just 145 bottles were filled. Port Ellen, dating to 1825 on Islay's southern coast near the village of Port Ellen, was closed in 1983 in the whisky downturn. Annual Special Releases through Diageo sealed its mythic status.

Islay peat dried the malt, lending the spirit its coastal smoke, giving the elegant, structured smoke that set Port Ellen apart. The spirit was run through copper pot stills on soft island water. Refill ex-Bourbon casks held the spirit, the wood Port Ellen is most often found in. At such an age the peat is soft and distant, the malt waxy, oily and profound. The peat phenols fade only slowly, which is why even very old Port Ellen keeps its smoke. Walter Frederick Campbell laid out the village of Port Ellen in 1821.

At a full 54.8% it is concentrated and oily. Soft coconut and vanilla from the oak, while a refined peat reek carries brine, wax and a mineral edge. A lanolin wax and a coastal salinity give it real weight. The close is slow, soft peat over wax. This is a piece of Islay legend in the glass.