Port Ellen 32 Years Old 1982 Cask #1511 (Mackillop’s Choice)

From Mackillop's Choice comes this Port Ellen at 32 year old, from 1982, drawn from cask 1511 and bottled at 56.2%. Just 306 bottles were filled. Port Ellen, first founded in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore, was silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. Its last casks were laid down in 1983, a finite legacy ever since.

Drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, to build a smoke at once oily, briny and refined. Maturation came in ex-Bourbon American oak, gentle wood beneath the peat. At this great age the peat is a ghostly whisper over beeswax, old oak and sea salt. Refill wood flatters Port Ellen, holding back the vanilla so the smoke and citrus speak. Each Diageo Special Release thinned a stock that could never be replaced. The maltings that survived the closure still supply barley across Islay today.

At a full 56.2% it is concentrated and oily. Lemon zest and coastal salt ride on drifting Islay peat smoke, with soft vanilla and a touch of coconut from the cask. It is structured and a touch austere, the refill oak keeping it lean. It fades on smoke, citrus and a saline tang. This is a revered Islay malt from a distillery silent for forty years.