Whisky: Port Ellen 16 Year (1980), Cadenhead’s Authentic Collection

Country/Region: Scotland/Islay

ABV: 62.6%

Cask: Oak

Age: 16 Years (Distilled Aug. 1980, Bottled Dec. 1996)

Nose: Smoking cane fire, overripe fruit, slightly rotted fruit, maritime, industrial, pineapple, red dirt.

Palate: Medium-bodied, sharp citrus and maritime, li hing pineapple, licorice, vanilla, birch bark, a touch spirited, green wood smoke, earthy undercurrent.

Finish: Long and lingering with citrus, vanilla, sarsaparilla, and earth.

Score: 7-8

Mental Image: Pineapple’s Cannery Journey

Narrative & Notes: The aroma featured flashbacks to old Hawaiʻi; black smoke billowing from sugar cane fields, the sweet, industrial smell of pineapples in all states— freshly cut, cooked down in juice, bruised, slightly overripe, and rotting— at the old Dole Pineapple Cannery. The fruit played second fiddle to more acrid industrial notes of engine grease, salty air, and a subtle metallic tin. Red dirt and earthiness provided a throughline to the shifting aroma. The palate was medium-bodied and sharp with salted lemon peels, grapefruit jellies, li hing pineapple, licorice, and vanilla. A lingering effervescence linked the musty-salty fruits with sarsaparilla and birch bark. A tad spirited upfront, green wood smoke and earthy lingered at the end. The finish was long and lingering with citrus, vanilla, sarsaparilla, and earth.

I was told that young Port Ellen was not well-regarded— that the distillery only shined after a few decades asleep in the cask. That may be true, I do not have a strong basis for comparison, but this younger Port Ellen was excellent. The wife firmly enjoyed it, though she reckoned that while it felt exactly like what you want from an Islay, it lacked the wow factor or distinctiveness found on more mature bottles. The thought had not occurred to me, but I agree, if this were dropped in a Port Askaig bottle, I would never have thought it was Port Ellen— perhaps a particularly fruity Laphroaig or an earthy untypical Caol Ila.

Overall, without unfathomably deep pockets or a long history of buying multiple bottles in the 90s or early 2000s, any Port Ellen is a unicorn bottle and a joy to try. A good friend opened this bottle in late 2022 to split with me; I then shared my portion with more people and spread the love around a bit further.