Port Ellen 32 Year 1979 (2012 Special Release)

The end goal of my birthday weekend was to finally try an official bottling of Port Ellen. A bucket list item is crossed off... for $30! The bottle: 7th release distilled in 1979 and bottled in 2007 at cask strength of 53.8%. This was at Jack Rose. I asked for a 1 oz pour, but the bottle had just about a half oz left. The bartender ended up charging me less than a third of the price. Initial nose: lemon scented embalming fluid, shoe polish. Cadaver lab back in med school. Except this time I’m looking forward to this shit, but it’s far from being ready to drink. It’s a little nervous. As I’m I. Subsequent noses: much less chemically. A rich and buttery smoke. Lemons, honeycombs, marigolds, and elderflowers, Chinese oolong. Tasting neat: a tobacco smokiness balanced with medicinal smoke. Deep fried minnows. Eucalyptus, parsley, mint. Lemons and grapefruits. Fennel, vanilla, and slight chili. Very oily, but not nearly as viscous as the Brora I had yesterday. Finish: I still have hints of this 8 hours later. How!?! First of all, no morning breath. A grassy smoke is the dominant theme. Smoked cactus, overbrewed Oolong, burning cooking oil. I give the edge to the 1978/2014 Brora after nose and palate, but this finish wins it for PE. I give the finish 102 / 100. Really. For reviewers who are afraid to give perfect scores because “what if I taste something even better?” Easy, you just give it better than 100%. No one will arrest you. Two drops of water: more somber. The green notes are relegated to some mint at the end. More black tea, more spicy, more earthy. Petrol. Clay. The biggest drawback is now I have to return to reality, after 3 sips of God’s dram. Will those 12 year old Lagavulins ever bring as much joy again? Will those old independent Caol Ilas I keep getting because they approximate independent Port Ellens even matter anymore? Will independent Port Ellen’s now feel like slumming it? Anyways, here’s the top 10 drams from my epic weekend: 1. Port Ellen 28y OB 1979/2007 53.2% - 98/100 2. Brora 35y OB 1978/2014 48.6% - 97.5 3. Port Ellen 23y DL OMC 1983/2006 50% - 95 4. Talisker 25y OB 45.8% - 95 5. Johnnie Walker Blue Brora & Rare NAS 46% - 94.5 6. Old Pulteney 21y OB 46% - 94 7. Redbreast 21y OB 46% - 94 8. Talisker 30y OB 45.8% - 92 9. Caol Ila 29y CA SB 1984/2013 55.5% - 90 10. Strathisla 33y HB FC 1967/2000 46.3% - 87

Note: this review is for a Port Ellen 24Y 2nd release Bottle# 0015 @ 59.23%--one dram purchased at the Lochranza Hotel bar on the Isle of Arran from a bottle about 9/10ths empty that had been sitting on the shelf for God knows how long. Three drops of water added--probably didn't need more than one, though. Now that we have the details out of the way... Very possibly one of the most profound whisky experiences I've had to date. Even considering the possibility that this bottle had been opened and sitting around for at least 5 years, it still had the most sublime balance of complexity and charm of any whisky I have ever tasted. Perhaps the oxidation improved it? If it didn't, then this one must have been stellar when it was first opened! I'm not the most experienced whisky connoiseur, but I've been around the block and this Port Ellen made me reasses all of my previous whisky opinions. At ~£1500 a bottle (still available, apparently) it is not the most expensive of the Port Ellens, but I hasten to think what could be better than this. Anyway, here are my brief tasting notes taken while sitting at the bar. They are brief because at the time I was far more into drinking the dram than deconstructing it into this or that note--trust me, it all came together delightfully. Nose: Light smoke, peat, honey, the sea--I could've just sat there with this at my nose for ever. Taste: Sooooo complex and very smooth (even at 59.23%) and not at all overbearing. Smoke, fruit, a little menthol and anise. Some deep savoury notes and salt. Best, most satisfying whisky I've had to date--enough said. Felt like robbery at £25/dram! 96+/100 MMB 10/07/16

Few whisky aficionados seem to remember why Port Ellen was closed in the first place: no one wanted their malts, that's the irony. The nose opens a door to the past, as whiffs of camphor, motor oil and sooty steam engines collide with lemon drops, tobacco leaves and oysters. Sweet and herbal, the palate awakens with subtle peat smoke, orange zest and mineral notes. Wood sap, licorice and hints of kiwi whisper their farewell as the earthy finish subsides. It reinforces what Diageo's special releases used to be, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. RATING: 4.5/5.0 stars ≙ 92 pts → SUPERB

34 year old OB. Oil and syrup like. Ripe apple, no burn despite high abv. Dry mouth feel. When adding water you taste the smoke and saltiness. 32 year old IB old and rare. Similar to the 34 on the nose. Everything is turned up. More spirt heavy but in a good way. Longest finish of any whisky I’ve had.

So..... I Found out I’m physically allergic to alcohol (and no I don’t break out in handcuffs 🥴). I Won’t be able to taste this bad boy or participate in this site any longer. It’s been real. Cheers! ☕️

Had this at a whisky bar in Oslo...incredible balance. Some of the best I've ever had.