Port Ellen 37 Year Old
10 July 2019

We are delighted to present one of the oldest single cask bottlings to have come directly from Islay’s revered and highly coveted ghost distillery Port Ellen. A truly exceptional single malt filled into a single hogshead cask over 37 years ago, this is a rare offering indeed. When the doors finally closed at Port Ellen in 1983 and stock was left to mature, no one could have guessed how wonderful the whisky would turn out to be. Nor how coveted these rare bottles would become. Port Ellen was set to remain silent for all time, and yet it was time that revealed just how special those remaining unbottled casks of whisky would become. Today collectors see Port Ellen as one of a handful of truly collectable distilleries. It is set to be reopened in 2021 bringing the world and a new generation the opportunity to enjoy this exceptional spirit.

This 37-year-old single cask bottling is not only one of the oldest bottlings, it is amongst some of the rarest liquid released, being one of only 174 bottles from this hogshead cask. This single cask #1297, bottled at 48.9% ABV is part of the exclusive Cask of Distinction program. Each is different, old and very rare: entirely unique and exceptional in taste. These casks are truly ‘once in a generation whiskies’, reflecting the craft, passion and expertise of whisky’s greatest custodians. Truly the pinnacle of a distillery’s output they are the perfect expression of the distillery’s character, specially selected by master blenders from the largest inventory of maturing Scotch Whisky in the industry.

A classic Port Ellen with exemplary character and vigour. Full gold, with beguiling aromas of beach seaweed, oily boat engines and sweet fruit. With a little water, the sweet aromas rise, joined by a soft waxy note. The texture is smooth and light. The taste starts sweet; soon there are salty-spicy waves of pungent, maritime, deliciously smoky heat. Water brings up the sweetness and spiciness and cools the heat, with hints of char and citrus. The finish is long, charred and smoky-sweet, fading to sweet-spicy oak and white pepper.