Port Ellen 1980 25 year old

Recently a friend of mine, his father-in-law and I had a tasting session. We actually went through 13 drams in one sitting. A long but very good night! The whiskies we went through in order were Bushmills Black Bush, Macphail's Collection Bunnahabhain 1990 (bottled in 2006), Bruichladdich 10 year old (bottled in 1979), Ardbeg Blasda, Port Ellen 25 year old (distilled 1980 bottled 2006), Bowmore 1956 (distilled in 1956, bottled in 1983), Glenfiddich 15 year old, Gordon and MacPhail Connoisseurs Choice Ardbeg 13 year old (distilled in 1972), Ardbeg 10 year old, Ardbeg Lord of the Isles, Ardbeg Uigeadail, Gordon and MacPhail Caol Ila 16 year old (distilled in 1969) and the Ardbeg Supernove. Over the next few days I will be writing up my notes. I won't be re-reviewing those malts I've already reviewed, but there are plenty of new ones.

The fourth cab off the rank was the Port Ellen, and I was really looking forward to this one. Port Ellen has become a bit of a legendary distillery, and while I've heard that the last few months of distillation led to some ordinary drams, this particular dram was from a few years before it closed, so I was very hopeful!

The nose was very floral, a hint of lavender. A little iodine, salt, and gentle wafts of peat come and go. Hints of honey and vanilla over the top of dried biscuits. Some noses are so good that they make you sniff over and over. This smelled so good that I had to stop myself from taking a sip!

The taste had an initial warm peaty smokiness, but within a second or two a spicy herbal mix starts to come through with quite a kick. This mixes together and a malty, nutty earthiness is the result. Notes of honey in the background to add a sweet counterpoint to the savoury flavours. Really complex and heart-warming, but not heavy, and definitely lived up to the promises made by the nose

The finish was long and warm. Hints of ginger, cinnamon and honey counterpoint a gentle peat smoke base. Really beautiful and warm.

This was a really fantastic malt. And it was made even better by the knowledge that ti was a piece of history. I'll never taste that whisky again, and it made me glad that it was good from top to bottom.

A note on scoring, on a scale out of 100 I'd rate it a 91-92, so I'll give it a 9.5, but it's a low 9.5.

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