Port Ellen (OMC) Cask 6588

50% abv

 Score:  90.5/100

This is  classic Islay.  Not the best of Islay, but absolutely exemplifying  the style and character.  Islay with a little age and dust on the  bottle, that is.  The subtle nuances paint a picture of the island  that resonates long and hard with me, having now been there.  Be  damned if this doesn’t remind me of walking the island.  Dusty farm  roads and briny coastal breezes.  The impressions are all there of  afternoon strolls beneath island skies and the bleating of sheep on the gently  rolling hills.

Every now and then the olfactory organ can trigger such violently vivid recollections driven by scent recall that I am truly taken aback.  It is hard to believe how much is stored in one’s mind that can be brought forth by a scent months or years later.  The mind is a wonderful thing.

Though I tsk and shake my head at a bottling of Port  Ellen that is adulterated to something less than its glorious cask strength, I do concede that beggars can’t be choosers.  With this whisky in such limited supply, just a taste is a treat.  This Old Malt Cask bottling at 50% is from cask 6588.  It was decanted at 27 years, and to be honest…I think it could have come out a little earlier.   While still good (very good, actually) it shows a few signs of  being a little long in the tooth.  Too active a cask  perhaps?  Is it just me?

The nose is a medley of rubber, oak, smoke and salt.  I could also pick up notes of dry tinder, fish, grains and decaying autumnal vegetation.  One of the more satisfyingly unique compositions I’ve come  across.

The  taste buds are treated to the much anticipated smoke and lightly citric dryness.  Tart and ashy, there is a very unique and defining  burnt licorice/rubber.  In terms of finish and staying power…pull out the hide-a-bed…these rubbery gristy notes ain’t leaving till the morn.

I  imagine this would pair well with a fine cigar.  A mild one though.  This is a fairly brittle dram.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt