Port Ellen 32 Year Old 1977 vintage Islay single malt Scotch whisky. Single refill hogshead expression of the lost Scottish distillery. Bottled September 2012 by Douglas Laing & Co. for the Old & Rare series.
Limited release of 155 bottles.
Port Ellen Distillery was established by Alexander K. Mackay on the southern coast of the Isle of Islay at Port Ellen in 1825. Port Ellen was a malt whisky distillery but closed in 1983 and whilst the distillery buildings remain Port Ellen drum maltings occupy part of the site and participates in Feis Ile, the annual Islay Festival of Malt and Music. Most recent official bottling of Port Ellen single malt whisky was the Port Ellen 11thRelease. During the winter of 1823-24 James Fox tested his newly designed spirit safe at Port Ellen Distillery prior to its introduction in all Scottish licenced distilleries by 1825 in order to comply with enactment of the Excise Act of 1823. Thus Port Ellen Distillery was the first Scottish distillery to install a spirit safe and James Fox was paid £428 for his work.
Opens in a softly subtle - yet self-evidently Islay - style, then anticipate smoked barley-mocha-peat and a leathery belt combination. Palatewise it is initially light - but holding it opens it to soft tar, bonfire ash with more coffee and chocolate flavours which all run to a finish which is now more tarry - citric - sooty and phenolic.
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