One of the very last 1979 European Oak butts from Port Ellen, selected from the few casks remaining, long after the Islay distillery closed in 1983. It characterises Port Ellen at its peak - expressing to the full the wonderful balance between sweetness, saltiness and smokiness that is elegant and full of flavour after forty years.
Bottled: 11.12.19 | Cask #6422 – Refill European Oak Butt
Number Bottled: 436 | Port Ellen, Isle Of Islay
One of eight bottlings in the Prima & Ultima Collection.
"The Port Ellen distillery closed in 1983, yet its single malt was later revealed to age wonderfully; this superb example is subtle, elegant and flavourful after forty years. There is very little of this age left, and even less that has been matured in a single European Oak butt, like this.
Richly golden and with a mild nose feel, it has lightly medicinal aromas and an ashy smokiness at the base. The texture is soft and smooth and the flavour starts sweet, with a dry, appetising saltiness and a black pepper spiciness. It’s a perfect balance of the sweet, the salty, and the smoky, with a long, drying finish. When I first went to Port Ellen, in the 1980s when this cask was young, none of us had a sense of how far time would take its whisky.
The distillery will soon reopen, continuing to bring the whisky world one of its great joys, so fabulously rare that it can only be enjoyed by a privileged few."
- Dr. Jim Beveridge OBE
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Tasting Notes
Appearance
Richly golden.
Nose
A mild nose feel, with lightly medicinal aromas and an ashy smokiness at the base.
Palate
The texture is soft and smooth and the flavour starts sweet, with a dry, appetising saltiness and a black pepper spiciness.
Finish
It’s a perfect balance of the sweet, the salty, and the smoky, with a long, drying finish.