Port Ellen 26 Year (1982), Signatory Vintage
Whisky : Port Ellen 26 Year (1982), Signatory Vintage
Country/Region : Scotland/Islay
ABV : 54.1%
Cask : Ex-Bourbon Hogshead
Age : 26 Years (Distilled 8 April 1982, Bottled 30 Jan. 2009)
Nose : Burning peat fire, fruit, and barbecue. The burning smokey vegetable aroma of a peat fire followed by grilled lemons and a coastal saltiness. Fat dripping on binchotan charcoal from a freshwater eel heightened the appetite as notes of mossy stones, camphor, and asphalt arrived. Orange sherbet came into focus with more time along with herbal-floral eucalyptus and orange essence.
Palate : Medium bodied and oily with a soft profile of pepper, charcoal, and herbs. Old cigar boxes opened into burning green wood and resin. Lemon grass, sansho pepper, white pepper, and pink peppercorns arrived as the dram took a spicy-savory turn. Hibachi grill burning with binchotan charcoal, warm cedar wood, and smokey-herbal Lapsang souchang tea.
Finish : Lingering sansho pepper and sweet charcoal smoke.
Score : 8
Mental Image : Hibachi Master’s Charcoal Select
Notes : This was a really fine Port Ellen and the first one I ever had the chance to try. I really enjoyed the interplay between sweet citrus fruits, charcoal grill, and herbal tea. This had a wonderful complexity that kept me coming back for one sip after another to try to pick out more individual and specific flavors.
I initially tried this at a tasting with our local whisky club dedicated to ghost distilleries. This was the final pour in a lineup that included Rosebank and Littlemill. I subsequently tried this again in a side by side with a 35 Year Port Ellen to see how it stacked up. This was really a treasure to get to sample and while I scored the two Port Ellens the same, I think this one takes it by a hair for me (the wife preferred the 35 year). I was surprised at just how much pungent smoke came through on this and the older Port Ellen. After several years of hoping I would get a chance to try Port Ellen (without totally breaking the bank— something I feared would never happen after I balked at prices for a Port Ellen dram previously) I absolutely lucked out in 2021.
There is little point in me trying any more Port Ellen, might as well end on a high note.
