Port Ellen's 16th annual Special Release, distilled in 1978 and bottled in 2016 at 37 years old. At the time it was the oldest Port Ellen Diageo had ever released, bottled at 55.2% ABV in an edition of 2,940 bottles.
About This Whisky
Diageo built this edition from a mix of refill American oak hogsheads and refill European oak butts, all filled in 1978. The combination gives the lemon, brine and peat of old Port Ellen a firmer frame of oak and a touch of dried fruit. It was bottled at natural cask strength and released in autumn 2016 alongside Brora, the other closed distillery in that year's line-up.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Iodine and sea spray, lemon zest, beeswax and a thread of old peat smoke.
- Palate: Powerful yet polished, with citrus oil, herbs, brine, pepper and a layer of dried fruit from the European oak.
- Finish: Very long and maritime, fading slowly to dry oak, smoke and salt.
Serving & Food
Keep this for an unhurried evening. Use a small tulip glass, pour neat and give it time to open; add water a drop at a time only if the strength dominates. Oysters or langoustines beforehand set it up well, as do smoked eel or a salty blue cheese.
How to Enjoy
Collectors building a run of the Port Ellen annual releases, and old-Islay drinkers curious to taste the distillery at 37 years.
Product Details
Distillery: Port Ellen, Islay, Scotland
Series / Release: Diageo Special Releases, 16th Release, bottled 2016
Vintage / Age: Distilled 1978, 37 years old
Cask: Refill American oak hogsheads and refill European oak butts
Outturn: 2,940 bottles
ABV: 55.2%
Volume: 750mL
Origin: Scotland
About the Distillery
The distillery at Port Ellen, on Islay's south coast, dates from 1825. It came into the hands of the Ramsay family soon afterwards and they held it for much of the nineteenth century. In 1925 it passed to the Distillers Company, and five years later, in the slump of 1930, it was closed. For more than three decades the stills sat idle while the warehouses and maltings stayed in use. The distillery was rebuilt and brought back into production in 1967 to meet demand from blenders, and the spirit made in that second life, up to 1983, is the stock behind every Special Release.