Port Ellen 42 Years Old 1981 Cask #290 (G&M)

From Gordon & MacPhail comes this Port Ellen, a 42 year old Islay malt, from 1981, drawn from cask 290 and bottled at 52.5%. Only 181 bottles were released. The legendary Port Ellen, built in 1825 by the sea on Islay's south shore, was silenced in 1983 when Islay had one distillery too many. Most of its make once went to blends, but its single malt became the prize.

Drawn off traditional pot stills fed by the Leorin Lochs, to build a smoke at once oily, briny and refined. An Oloroso sherry cask wrapped the smoke in dried fruit and a nutty depth. At such an age the peat is soft and distant, the malt waxy, oily and profound. The slow loss of the angel's share, a percent or two each year, has concentrated the liquid over decades. The maltings that survived the closure still supply barley across Islay today.

At cask strength 52.5% it is muscular. The Oloroso brings smoked fig, raisin and walnut, and crystallised lemon and a salty tang ride on embers of Islay peat, with a quiet sweetness from the refill cask. A crystallised lemon and a saline tang lift the smoke. A long, briny finish smoulders to the end. This is a rare survivor of the 1983 closure.