Port Ellen, Prima & Ultima Fourth Release, 43 Year Old, 1978

Whiskies from this distillery are regarded as rare gems - the distillery only produced whisky for 16 of the last 93 years and hasn’t made a drop since 1983. The remaining maturing stock is therefore both dwindling and finite. The final three American Oak Hogsheads from 1978 combined to create this dram represent an increasingly rare opportunity to taste a moment in time that will soon be lost forever. These casks were filled and tended to by Iain MacArthur who also filled the very last cask at Port Ellen in 1983. Smoothly oily and mouth-filling in texture, with the classic Port Ellen balance of sweetness, saltiness and smoke richly expressed in a surprisingly sweet taste to start, which becomes salty in mid-palate, finishing with light spice and billows of fragrant smoke. Adding a drop of water favours the sweetness, while the spice soon returns.