Specialist spirits purveyor, Duncan Taylor Scotch Whisky Ltd, announces the release of a highly prestigious malt from its‘ Rarest Collection’ – a Port Ellen 40-year-old single malt whisky from March 16th, 1983. Available globally, this limited release of 209 bottles comes from first fill sherry cask number 667, one of the last batches of Port Ellen production and mere weeks before the distillery closed its doors for the last time in May of the same year.
At 104.8 proof the liquid was matured in a European Oak ex-sherry butt, with the cask initially stored on Islay, until it was laid down to finish maturing in the vaults at Duncan Taylor’s HQ in Aberdeenshire in 2010. Each hand-finished decanter is sequentially numbered with a signed certificate of authenticity. The Scottish firm last released a Port Ellen back in 2013.
As worldwide demand for smoky and peated malts has surged, Port Ellen, a cult whisky among collectors, has become one of the rarest, most iconic and sought after around the globe. Founded by Alexander Kerr Mackay in 1825 on Islay’s southern coast, Port Ellen was named after the nearby town and became an innovator in the whisky industry with great success exporting to the United States. Impacted by Prohibition, the distillery initially fell silent for 37 years from 1930. It was then resurrected in 1967 due to the demand for peated whisky when it expanded from two to four stills. However, Distillers Company Limited, who owned Port Ellen from 1925, closed its doors in 1983
TASTING NOTES
Nose: A classic sherried Islay. Full of treacle toffee and leather mixed with bright fruity notes of blackberries and strawberries drenched in cream. A touch of zesty citrus offsets the fruity sweetness, and some dark, waxy comb honey adds depth. Some intense maritime notes of sea spray combined with kombu kelp. Mineral touches of seashore pebbles emerge with time from underneath the sherried fruits.
Palate: Very true to the nose. Dark treacle toffee and more fruits, this time more cooked than fresh. Thick and chewy texture with roasted pecan nuts to the fore. The leathery, maritime notes persist with some warming spices of cloves and caraway. The peat comes over as a distant driftwood bonfire on a salt drenched seashore. A dark, smoky and fruity chutney balanced by a refreshing hint of spearmint. Wonderful balance with all elements in good equilibrium.
Finish: Long and seemingly everlasting. The dark bitter chocolate notes from the sherry cask persist to the last, along with some spicy toasted oak. The chewy toffeed fruits continue, but now are slightly drier than on the palate. The driftwood bonfire of the peat is now reduced to some smouldering embers. Again, the balance is perfect with all elements singing in harmony.
