Category Archives: Port Ellen

Port Ellen (OMC) Cask 6588 Review

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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

Port Ellen 8th Release Review

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Port Ellen 8th Release083

55.3% abv

Score:  90.5/100

 

So.  One question.  Why the f*ck did this distillery close?

I concede that all of the Port Ellen expressions that I have tasted to date have been in their mid 20s to early 30s, so age is certainly a factor.  We all know (or should all know) that aged peat is sexy.  There is simply no getting around it.  When the smoke, brine and tar begin to resound with lessoning echoes, the fruits that previously were hidden behind the peat curtain begin to sashay towards center stage for their moment in the spotlight.  This moment, between the ebb of the peat and the crescendo of the oak, is a small window of time.  At this point the malt needs to retire to the comforts of glass to arrest the maturation process.

And here, at this point of maturity, is where we now find the diminishing stores of Port Ellen.  Every sip is one less that exists in the world.  When Port Ellen closed its doors in ’83, we were left with a cache of casks that one day certainly must run dry.  Speculation runs rampant on how much PE is left in the world (nowhere moreso than here on ATW), but to put it simply…this whisky is going the way of the dodo.

Mr. PE (aka Maltmonster) has said that this 8th release, while still exceptional, is not necessarily the personification of the distillery’s profile.  I’ve tasted a dozen or so Port Ellen’s now, of varying casks, ages and finishes, and while I cannot speak with the assurance he does, I can say that no one would know better.

Having said that…

Let’s go full circle to my first question.  Why would Port Ellen be closed?  This whisky is brilliant stuff.  I have heard that even in its younger incarnations it deserved more than the relegation to blending fodder it was known to be.  This was another Islay distillery that produced a high quality whisky and certainly had the financial backing it needed to get through the whisky slump of the 80s.  Its closure will forever haunt us.

Port Ellen 8.  The nose is subtle and sophisticated.  Fading smoke and peat…mild lemon…light honeydew melon and freshly cut potato.  Hints of wax and latex and tar.  Licorice and mint.  A dusting of cocoa powder.  All of this seems slightly restrained, even at cask strength.

The palate is woody and smoky.  Age is everywhere here, but not of something past its prime.  More akin to starting the descent after summiting.  It is oily and lingering (beautifully so), and bitters out slightly in oaky shards.

Typical of the distillery style?  Maybe not quite, but brilliant, brilliant Islay whisky nevertheless.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Ellen 9th Release Review

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Port Ellen 9th Release070

57.7% abv

Score:  92.5/100

I  waited many a long day to both taste and review a Port Ellen. In  point of fact I actually turned down an opportunity to taste this expression a  while back simply because I had already beaten up on my palate earlier that eve  with a few other Islay malts. It just seemed like a waste. Put simply, Port Ellen is a malt that deserves undivided attention and an unbiased palate. Its pedigree, value (subjective or otherwise) and reputation demand respect.

That being said…this also insinuates a lot of pressure and expectation on PE to deliver and be exceptional. Is it? Well…

At this point I can’t even pretend to hide my bias. I have a junkie’s  weakness for Islay malts. Peat is like a vice. Or more accurately, the smoky heft and majesty of these medicinal malts is like a vice. All eight of Islay’s working distilleries have produced whiskies that have charmed the socks off of me. Now let’s look at a dram from a distillery no longer producing.

Amid the economic tumult of the early 80s (1983, to be exact), Port Ellen was the most heartbreaking of casualties. A distillery that simply fell victim to surplus, as United Distillers elected to retain Caol Ila and Lagavulin and let the doors swing shut on Port Ellen forever. Oftentimes when a distillery is closed the possibility of the phoenix act is still a reality. The distillery may lay dormant, mothballed, as time marches on, awaiting a new owner with deeper pockets and bigger dreams. Port Ellen, unfortunately, is history. The distillery that  once produced Islay’s most cult and collectible spirit is now a maltings that supplies malted barley to the island’s operational distilleries.

Fortunately, stocks of Port Ellen are still to be found. Oft released as indie  bottlings at neutered abv’s, it is a treat to see releases like the Diageo Port Ellens. In this particular case we are looking at a 30 year old whisky at a still  impressive 57.7%. This presentation allows us to see Port Ellen in  all ‘er glory.  And she is lovely.

The nose is typical of Islay. There is a somewhat fragile and ephemeral quality here. Slightly surprising when you consider bottling strength. A most trusted friend (the incomparable Maltmonster) suggested the closest one would get to a Port  Ellen would be Caol Ila. I see where he was coming from. The same delicacy I’ve noted in regards to that malt is to be found here as well.

Nose: Melon. Jolly Ranchers. Briny seaside fire. Light waves of  chocolate. A hint of something still fresh that adds to that fragility. Almost like a faded eucalyptus. There is a sexy maturity at play here. Age becomes almost a note in and of  itself. Citrus. The peat and smoke are soft, but grow with time. Slightly rubbery. Candy notes. Syrupy white fruits. Berries (someone said blackberries?)

Palate: Here is the peat that was subdued on the nose. Lime zest. A neat sweetness. Bubblegum, almost? Herbal, yet spicy. Lapsang souchong tea as it develops. Ash and tar. Smoke is all over the palate. Rubbery wax. Licorice at the back end until it finally ebbs into that tart peaty green apple skin familiarity.

Thoughts: Sweet, but the palate explodes with smoke. Somewhat bittersweet to drink this piece of history, as I’ve acknowledged before. On the one hand, fortunate to have experienced it. On the other…well…when it’s  gone…it’s really gone. Did it live up to my (high) expectations? Indeed.  Here is the hype of Port Ellen vindicated.

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Curt

Port Ellen 1979 (OMC) Cask # 3081 Review

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Port Ellen 1979 (OMC) Cask # 3081

50% abv

Score:  83/100

 

Hm.  What to make of this one.

First things first…I want to know who the hell thought it was a good idea to put Port Ellen in a rum cask.  Seriously.  One of my favorite distilleries (albeit no longer with us) meets one of my least favorites spirits.  As a relative scotch purist, this is one of the most overt blasphemies and bastardizations of a damn near sainted malt I have ever encountered.

Thankfully the rum notes that dominate the nose are nearly invisible across the palate.  (Remember…as we’ve said before…the nose picks up much more than the taste buds ever will).  So, the question is…does the odd nose profile, courtesy of the rum influence, manage to kill this whisky?  Fortunately…no.  I think though, it may have been a battle to the death, with the Islay contender eking a victory out at heavy cost to personal well-being.

What this Old Malt Cask offering gives us is a nose full of wet rubber bands and glue.  Characteristics I find in most aged rums I’ve tried.  The slightly uncorfortable icing on this sweet desert is a fishy and oily tinged layer of briny Islay familiarity.  The smoke and peat has mellowed gracefully by this age, but the fruits that would normally start to assert themselves are being held back by the other, odder notes.  To be honest, this borders on unpleasant, but there are some pleasant notes that work as a saving grace.

As mentioned a couple paragraphs back, the palate is surprisingly bereft of this synthetic olfactory experience.  Here we can see the Port Ellen we love.  It is tarry and rubbery.  Salted cooked greens and lemon pepper at the fore.  A lovely lingering affair that shows little to non of the rum influence.

The maltmonster hooked me up with this one (though he hates these mentions…there is a reason here).  Being as averse to the cane juice as I am, he actually apologized for passing this over.  Though half in jest, I couldn’t help but think he feels as I do.  Keep that sugary distillate away from the nectar of Islay.

Interestingly enough…a while back I tasted a rum that had been matured (or at least finished) in a former Laphroaig cask.  The results were an abomination.  Here we see the effects of reversing the process, and maturing a whisky in a rum cask.  While not an offence to the senses as the rum was, this is not quite the success that may have been hoped for.  Neat to note that both developed a somewhat artificial note to them.

 

– Reviewed by:  Curt

– Photo:  Pat

Port Ellen – A Dirty Little Secret

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PORT ELLEN —————— A DIRTY LITTLE SECRET

 

Various incarnations of Port Ellen

 

In the snowy month of May, 2011 (remember, this is Canada), I was lucky enough to go back to Scotch Land with a small tour group.  I posed as a hard drinking tourist from Canada with a simple mission: drink as many free drams as offered (over 200), ascertain the total remaining casks of Port Ellen held in trust for me and return to Canada without breaking any bottles in my two suitcases.

Success comes in many forms, but always with consequence.  I was both baptized and enlightened in the lake of single malt that is Speyside, but succumbed to a bad case of liver quiver.  My suitcases proved to be liquid tight, but my Visa seemed to be somehow diminished from the constant friction of use.  The main purpose of uncovering the remaining stocks of Port Ellen was met with only modest success but came at a high cost of fallen friends.  Nothing quite prepares you for the sight of facing your comrades (No last names, Richard, Peter, Andrew and his son) in the morning following the prior day’s itinerary, starting with a morning of whisky sampling, followed by a whisky and lunch pairing, afternoon of whisky sampling, aperitif pre-dinner sharpener whisky, whisky and dinner pairing, after dinner dessert whisky and capped off by a long night of whisky bar scrambling.

Port Ellen Distillery, for the benefit of the great unwashed, was built in 1825, temporarily closed between 1929 and 1966, and then operated up to its demise in 1983.  Diageo, or UDV at the time, decided that Caol Ila was better than Port Ellen and Port Ellen was surplus to demand, so went about converting the distillery into a permanent malting facility, which it remains today.

With Gordon & MacPhail, Diageo and Douglas Laing unwilling to disclose their remaining stock of Port Ellen casks, one will just have to take a shot in the dark at their remaining cask inventory.  The following is a profession BBBG* of the remaining casks of Port Ellen held in Scotland:

1 – Cadenhead.  Asked on the Royal Mile and was told they have none left.

2 – Single Malt Whisky Association.  Edinburgh (yes both locations).  Was told that they have no casks .

3 – Signatory.  During the tour they were more than happy to tell us and even allowed us to take a pictures in their warehouse of their last 2 casks.

4 – All the others (which include Dewar Rattray , Adelphi , Coopers Choice , Duncan Taylor and so on) …………………… BBBG* 4 casks.

5– Gordon & MacPhail (Michael Urquhart).  Asked twice, once on a tour of Benromach, again at a tasting in Gordon & MacPhail offices.  Both times, politely denied.  There was a posting on the internet back in 1995 which suggested that after visiting Gordon & MacPhail’s warehouses, they were told the stocks held by Gordon & MacPhail were diminishing rapidly and Gordon & MacPhail were going to start rationing their remaining Port Ellen inventory.  Given Gordon & MacPhail’s ongoing hoarding ability in being able to put 70 year old casks of single malts on the markets, earns them the number three spot in available casks in the whisky world with an BBBG* 20 casks.

6 – Diageo (The largest drink company on the planet.  At least they can’t advertise the universe (Johnnie Rocket Whisky?)) Diageo has been very secretive and heavy handed about their stocks of Port Ellen.  Just remember, Diageo once had a street named after them, but they had to change the name because nobody crosses Diageo and lives.  There was a posting on the internet claiming to have seen the hidden treasure of remaining casks in a first person vision of 80 casks in May of 2005.  Even though the stated amounts of 80 casks in 2005 (80 casks x 250 bottles per cask is 20,000) have long been used up.  Between 2006 and 2010, 25,368 bottles have been released from their annual releases, another 220 bottles from their 2008 Feis Ile single cask along with an undisclosed amount included in their Johnnie Walker Blue Label special releases.

But here’s the rub…we all know the greatest trick that Diageo (Diablo) ever played was convincing the world that Port Ellen was in short supply.  Given that Diageo is usually short sited in most of what they do, Diageo having more casks than Douglas Laing would mean they would be smarter than Douglas Laing, which I would never concede.  So I would BBBG* their remaining inventory at 40 casks which would be approximately 9,000 to 10,000 bottles, of which I believe they will release in a declining amount over the next five years (2011 to 2015).  I would think their remaining casks to be from 1978 & 1979, which would be consistence with their other releases.

I believe they held onto 1978 & 1979 stocks as they were the oldest stock they had left that didn’t already go to blending, plus they had much invested in time and money in quality bourbon casks.  Diageo most likely sold the 1982 and 1983 stock cheaply to the independents, given the overabundance of whisky on the market at the time.  The 1980 & 1981, the missing stock years, which were just or arriving at the three year minimum legal limit for scotch whisky, were probably put into the Diageo peated blends, like JW Black & JW Blue, never to be seen again, and only appreciated if you happen to come across an older bottle from the mid to late eighties.

7 – Douglas Laing (The upstarts of independents, according to Gordon & MacPhail).  Seems to have more remaining stock of Port Ellen than Diageo and all the independents combined, and if managed carefully will last for generations (with deep pockets) to come.  This foresight of buying so many casks of Port Ellen, I believe, can be attributed to Fred Douglas Laing Senior and his love for Port Ellen, although at the time of purchase it was most likely to be a smoky component to one of their blends and not a single malt.

Port Ellen is a jewel in the crown of the Douglas Laing inventory, and Old Malt Cask at 50 % ABV in a Sherry cask is a personal favorite of mine.  On the third floor of Douglas House on Lynedoch Crescent we had the good fortune of trying numerous samples of Port Ellen (along with other single malts), in hopes of bringing yet another cask to Calgary.  Our host for the visit was Lorraine and when I popped the question (how many casks are in the Douglas Laing inventory?), the response was “ee…er…ee…er…ee…”, which I interpreted from Scottish to Canadian as, “if I told you, I’ve have to kill you, eh, you hoser”.

Douglas Laing and sister companies et al., have been releasing Port Ellen in most of their ranges, from Old & Rare Platinum (dump the burnt pine wood boxes with the bad glue jobs), Old Malt Cask (please no more low neck bottles), Provenance, Douglas of Drumlanrig, Premier Barrel ceramic decanter (please put better cork / caps in these bottles and pack them better), Old Malt Cask Advance samples and let’s not forget Big Peat, with a small shovelful of Port Ellen per bottle in a blend of scotch malts.  I would BBBG* their remaining stock to 81 casks, which is double Diageo plus one.  I would think most of their remaining stock to be from 1982 & 1983, but they would also have some older stock in reserve for their Platinum line.

 

In summary I BBBG* the total remaining inventory of casks (not current bottles on the shelf) and PLEASE CORRECT ME IF I’M WRONG, to be 147 casks, or approximately 40,000 bottles, given some of the remaining casks from Douglas Laing are probably larger Sherry Butts.

To honor this forever lost distillery (more of an excuse to drink), I sat down with Curt, Jay and Pat of All Things Whisky and we enjoyed five different bottlings of Port Ellen.  Curt and I decided to post our tasting notes together on this venture.

 

Port Ellen Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 1982

 

PORT ELLEN Gordon & MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice 1982 – 2003

40% ABV 21 Years Old

 

CURT

NOSE:  Citrus bites first.  Peat and smoke, wood smoke (not quite as bold as a mesquite or hickory, but very pronounced nevertheless).  Herbal.  Grassy.  Soft vanilla.

PALATE:  Waxy.  Thin burnt notes.  Smoked fruit skins.  Smoke hangs on and dries out nicely.

THOUGHTS:  Palate doesn’t quite deliver what the nose hints at.  Thin in terms of flavor and mouth feel.  Still a great drink, but heartbreaking it saw so much water added.  Fourth favorite of the night.

 

MALTMONSTER

NOSE:  Bud-lite smoke.  Farmy.  Lemons and a hint of orange.

TASTE:  Sweet and salty are battling it out on the taste buds.  Grapefruit rules.

FINISH:  Medium…maybe a bit more.

ASSESSMENT:  No need to add water to a drowning drink.  Port Ellen needs to be at a higher ABV to work well.  Fourth favorite of the night.

 

Port Ellen Diageo 6th Annual Release

 

PORT ELLEN Diageo 6th Annual Release 1978 – 2006

54.2% ABV 27 Years Old, Bottle # 3251 of 4560 Bottles

 

CURT

NOSE:  Creamy toffee/caramel.  Lemon Polish/Lemon Pledge.  Brine.  Salted Greens.  Fruit Cocktail (mélange of maraschino cherry, pear, orange, peach…all mild and dilute).  Smoke and peat.

PALATE:  Peppery Licorice.  Tar and iodine.  Peat.  Fades into Granny Smith Apple.  Long and smoky finish.

THOUGHTS:  Best nose of the night.  This is exactly what I think of when I think PE.  Love it.  Best PE of the night, hands down.

 

MALTMONSTER

NOSE:  Floor polish.  Smoked kippers.  Lemon pepper.  Low tide and vanilla.

TASTE:  Musty.  Black liquorice.  Iodine.

FINISH:  Medium to long.  Fades quickly.

ASSESSMENT:  Not just any Port in a storm of independents, what I would describe as typical and predictable Port Ellen style.  Second favorite of the night (sucker for balanced sherry).

 

Port Ellen OMC 26 Years Old Rum Finished

 

PORT ELLEN Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask December 1979 – November 2006

50% ABV 26 Years Old Rum Finished, Cask # 3081 of 342 Bottles

 

CURT

NOSE:  Rubber Bands.  Glue.  Oily and fishy (think canned sardines).  Aged rum.  Mild smoke and citric tanginess.

PALATE:  Rum almost disappears on the tongue.  Tarry and rubbery.  Cooked greens.  Lemon pepper.  Long finish that shows almost no sign of the rum influence.  Odd.

THOUGHTS:  WTF?!  Palate is much better than the nose.  Nose is almost off-putting.  Does get a little more relaxed with time to open.  Unrecognizable to me as a PE.  Hard to dissect with the rubbery notes from the rum running interference.  Least favorite of the night.

 

MALTMONSTER

NOSE:  Wet cardboard and fishy chum delight.  This is where the rubber hits the road.  Floral.  Aarrrrrr!  This is sickly sweet.  Might improve mixing (drowning) with coke.

TASTE:  Much better than the nose.  Citrus, kiwi and burnt butter.

FINISH:  Medium to long.

ASSESSMENT:  Pirate Jack & Parrot Pete can’t save the nose on this malt.  Will send the remnants of this bottle to Edmonton for recycling.  It’s said that they are a dirty people and will drink anything.

 

Port Ellen OMC 1983

 

PORT ELLEN Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask March 1983 – February 2006

50% ABV 22 Years Old Refill Sherry Butt, Cask # 2116 of 660 Bottles

 

CURT

NOSE:  Very subdued peat at first.  Malty.  Rye bread.  Smoke.  Dusty dried fruit.  Chocolate.  Citrus.  Seaside.

PALATE:  Dried fruits seem more vibrant here…almost like fresh fruit.  Smoky and long.  Pleasantly drying

THOUGHTS:  Third favorite of the night.  Great dram and quite PE-ish with a slight malty twist.

 

MALT MONSTER

NOSE:  Farmy.  Smoked oysters.  Oranges & cherries.  Toffee.

TASTE:  Sweet at first getting bitter at the end.  Milk chocolate.  Bit minty and blackberry jam.

FINISH:  Strangely warm at the start, fading quickly.  Medium to long.

ASSESSMENT:  Good example of a sherry butt PE from DL.  Third favorite of the night.

 

Port Ellen Signatory 1982

 

PORT ELLEN Signatory Vintage November 11 , 1982 – December 20 , 2007

57 % ABV 25 Years Old, Cask 2847 Bottle # 111 of 417 Bottles

 

CURT

NOSE:  Chewy and rich.  Burnt notes.  Zest (Citrus…not soap).  Tobacco leaf.  Wet rocks.  Dark fudge.  Smoke and peat.

PALATE:  Chocolate.  Cereal notes.  Muted anise.  Warm spicy arrival.  Mouth coating, thick and oily.

THOUGHTS:  Great balance.  Points for best arrival of the night.  Nice mix of peat and sherry.  Second favorite of the night.

 

MALTMONSTER

NOSE:  Nice aged peat smoke.  Cherries.  Oranges.  Leather.  Caramel.

TASTE:  Lemon.  Pepper.  Liquorice.  Fruity.  Marzipan.

FINISH:  Long and lingering.

ASSESSMENT:  Smoke on the water, fire in the sky, this is my favorite of the night.  Perfect balance of Sherry and Islay malt.

 

Although I don’t generally cry when I drink single malts unless I’ve accidently spilled some, I always seem to tear up when I’m drinking Port Ellen, and pause to remember this poem from Lord Byron:

So we’ll go no more a-roving

So late into the night,

Though the heart still be as loving,

And the moon still be as bright.

For the sword outwears its sheath,

And the soul outwears the breast,

And the heart must pause to breathe,

And love itself have rest.

Though the night was made for loving,

And the day returns too soon,

Yet we’ll go no more a-roving

By the light of the moon.

 

– As always, tender, Maltmonster

– Photos:  Pat (www.standstillphotography.ca)

(BBBG* – Best Bloody Brilliant Guesstimation)

Port Ellen

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Port Ellen.

The Holy Grail of Islay Malt for many.  The Port Ellen distillery was mothballed in 1983, and subsequently demolished.  The site is still home to the maltings (which supply malt to all of the Islay disilleries), but sadly the whisky that was produced prior to 1983 is all there will ever be.  These whiskies, especially the cask-strength Diageo bottlings, are highly sought after, collectable and obviously quite drinkable.

Our own incomparable Maltmonster, generous of time and spirit (both the drinkable kind and the inner sort), offered to supply some insider details from a little tasting he and a couple others put together.  I know envy is one of the seven deadly sins, but hey…may as well tack it on the list I’m already chaulking up.

Here is how it all came together.  I know of no other comprehensive review of all PEs like this, so my sincerest thanks to MM and the poor souls who got dragged along on this ride.  Withour further ado…

PORT ELLEN BY THE NUMBERS

 

WARNING VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED

May contain scenes that rum drinkers find offensive. Intended for a malt audience only

May also contain content or scenes of debauchery, alcohol consumption and bad humor

Diageo’s Port Ellen 1 through 9.

Playing the Lennon / McCartney song Revolution 9 backwards it became suddenly clear that Charles Manson had it all wrong .The message that the Beatles were sending was to drink Trop Nelle and the number nine used repeatedly through the song meant consume nine different bottles

After convincing my friends of the true meaning of the message we undertook a grail like quest to acquire the needed malt. We a small but determine group of Diageo bashing Port Ellen loving maltsters managed to buy the 5th, 6th , 8th  and 9th release locally. The 7th release was acquired from New York .The 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th releases were acquired out of the wilds of Scotland.

So on a cold and snowy night in December we gathered together again, the infamous gang of four. Named after our failed attempt to take over control of Diageo in 2008. We now know which seemed to be obvious to others that owning whisky is not considered the type of stock that entitles you to vote at share holders meetings

The bottles are listed from one to nine, but tasted from nine to one as we felt that the older ones would have less of a peat influence on our nose and palates. We rated the PE as we drank them, comparing to the previous drams and so on. So at the bottom of each of the tasting notes is the combined average rating of the gang of four (1 being the best and 9 being the least favorite of the night) any ties were broken by the Maltmonsters vote

Heaven is indeed a place on earth.

Port Ellen # 1 Annual Release 1979 – 2001 22 Years Old 56.2 % ABV. Limited 6,000 Bottles

NOSE: Soft apple, musty and mild smoke

TASTE: Bubble gum, sweet, liquorice

FINISH: Long and lingering a little oaky at the end

ASSESSMENT: Good all around expression of PE. Good depth

RATING: # 3

Port Ellen # 2 Annual Release 1978 – 2002 24 Years Old 59.35 % ABV. Limited 12,000 Bottles

NOSE: Candied apples, iodine and tar

TASTE: Sweet and at bit winey with some milk chocolate

FINISH: Very long, a bit salty at the end

ASSESSMENT: The most intense creosote like of the group. Very robust

RATING: # 7

Port Ellen # 3 Annual Release 1979 – 2003 24 Years Old 57.3 % ABV. Limited 9,000 Bottles

NOSE: Fresh fruit, cut grass and little iodine

TASTE: Sweet, chewy and salty almost briney

FINISH: Medium to long

ASSESSMENT: Not an unpleasant expression just lacks some refinement

RATING: # 6

Port Ellen # 4 Annual Release 1978 – 2004 25 Years Old 56.2 % ABV. Limited 5,100 Bottles

NOSE: Sweet succulent oranges. Citrus delight. Fresh lawn clippings. Beautiful smoke

TASTE: Ripe fruit. Liquorice root and velvet smooth

FINISH: Long, lingering and warm

ASSESSMENT: I like this one a lot. Well balanced and complex

RATING: # 2

Port Ellen # 5 Annual Release 1979 – 2005 25 Years Old 57.4 % ABV. Limited 5,280 Bottles

NOSE: Floral, lavender, apples and pears. Subtle smoke

TASTE: Sweet, infused lemon .Vibrant on the tongue

FINISH: Long finish. Starts dry and ends up sweet. Little oaky

ASSESSMENT: The most balanced of the PE tasted. Refreshing to drink .Stunning

RATING: # 1

Port Ellen # 6 Annual Release 1978 – 2006 27 Years Old 54.2 % ABV. Limited 4,560 Bottles

NOSE: Floor polish, fishy and citrus notes

TASTE: Black liquorice, earthy

FINISH: Medium to long

ASSESSMENT: A little dull and plain . To astringent.

RATING: # 8

Port Ellen # 7 Annual Release 1979 – 2007 28 Years Old 53.8 % ABV. Limited 5,274 Bottles

NOSE: Cloves, lemon and sea-weed

TASTE: Honey to salty all in one waive

FINISH: Short to medium

ASSESSMENT: The taste really died on the vine. The least complex of the bunch

RATING: # 9

Port Ellen # 8 Annual Release 1978 – 2008 29 Years Old 55.3 % ABV. Limited 6,618 Bottles

NOSE: Lemon, nutty, bit of sulphur and a little oily

TASTE: Cinnamon, milk chocolate and pepper

FINISH: Very long and ending bone dry

ASSESSMENT: Have tasted this one numerous times and enjoyed each time .Seems not a favorite of the writers but this crews loves it. Well rounded and multilayered

RATING: # 4

Port Ellen # 9 Annual Release 1979 – 2009 30 Years Old 57.7 % ABV. Limited 5,916 Bottles

NOSE: Eucalyptus, floral, spruce needles

TASTE: sweet, light smoke early

FINISH: Medium to long

ASSESSMENT: The most elegant of the nine tried. Very pleasant malt to drink

RATING: # 5

Special thanks to the members of the gang of four for making this tasting happen (Extra special thanks to the unnamed person that supplied most of the malt). We will be having a do over once we located and secured a bottle of the 10th release.

Port Ellen 1 through 9.

“Just remember age doesn’t always bring wisdom, sometimes age comes alone.”

Thanks, MM.