Port Ellen 30 Year Old Douglas Laing Whisky Review!

An independent bottling of 'ghost distillery' Port Ellen from Douglas Laing's beautifully presented Old & Rare series. Not something you see everyday!

Tasting Port Ellen is never something to take lightly. This is one of the most lusted-after distilleries in the whisky world, and it's certainly the most lusted-after closed distillery in the whisky world. The official bottlings are now ridiculously expensive, to the point where they're well out of the reach of most whisky fans - for example, the latest 40-year old release retails for a whopping $12,500 AUD. That sort of money could buy you three bottles of 40-year old Bunnahabhain, or two bottles of 41-year old Talisker if you prefer, both with enough change leftover to buy a couple of cases of some very good whisky. These official Port Ellens are now more of a showpiece, something to be collected, traded, and admired from a safe distance, more like rare art than bottles of whisky. A few years back, if one wanted to actually taste a piece of this whisky history, they could look to the independent bottlers for more reasonably priced examples, but those are becoming very hard to get a hold of - this whisky is a finite thing, there are only so many casks left in existence, and no doubt Diageo have been hard at work buying back as many of them as they can, destined to join the ranks of the aforementioned showpieces. This situation will have been amplified and accelerated by the news that this long-dead & demolished Islay distillery is being rebuilt - in fact it was due to re-open next year, after the initial announcement back in 2017. It's behind schedule though, in fact I believe planning permission for building was only granted this year, and everything will have been put on hold and further delayed by the global crisis. That reopening - or more accurately, rebuilding, has brought new attention to this now almost-mythical distillery that sounded its death knell back in 1983, and this renewed attention will only place more demand on the remaining stock, which will of course result in more price increases. 

Closed distilleries are an interesting subject. While many are now more widely appreciated, lauded and respected than they were when they were last operational - with Diageo's Port Ellen and Brora and ex-Diageo Rosebank all being great examples - it's important to remember that these sites were not put out to pasture without reason. In Port Ellen's case, in the midst of the whisky slump and British recession of the early-1980s, owners DCL (which would later become Diageo) had to choose one of their three Islay distilleries to send to the guillotine. Caol Ila had recently been rebuilt and upgraded, and was much larger and more versatile - an important factor when its main purpose was and still is pumping out stock for the blenders. Lagavulin was a more realistic option, but it had already amassed quite the cult following at the time, and was of crucial import to the likes of White Horse blended whisky, among others. Port Ellen on the other hand had only been operating for 15 years after a 37-year mothballing, and needed substantial investment for it to meet looming changes in environmental regulations. It also was not in high demand from blenders - possibly due to its austere nature and unpredictability. Blenders want readily-available consistent spirit, and it's important to remember that single malt was still a fledgling thing at this point in time, so a change in demand from blenders could easily make or break a distillery. Between the three siblings, the smallest distillery, with an already-chequered past, and in dire need of investment was never going to come out on top. Don't think the neighbouring Port Ellen Maltings facility had anything to do with the situation either - they had already been operating for nearly a decade by then. But now, nearly 40-years later with the current whisky boom continuing, the laws of supply & demand have thrust Port Ellen back into the spotlight, along with growing 'exclusivity' thanks to its finite nature.  

Rewind a decade though, and the situation was far less drastic. While the official bottlings were already attracting serious price levels at the time, independent bottlings were still around, and were far more reasonably priced in comparison. On a personal note, I have to admit that the (admittedly only two or three) examples of official bottlings of Port Ellen that I've been able to try have actually paled in comparison to the excellent independent bottlings that I've come across from the likes of Signatory Vintage, Gordon & MacPhail and The Whisky Exchange - particularly when you factor in pricing. And the Port Ellen that we're looking at today seems well-positioned to keep that tradition going! This example is from family-owned independent bottler Douglas Laing's 'Old & Rare' series - which unlike many contemporary uses of those terms, featured whiskies that were actually old and rare. This is a single cask bottling of Port Ellen that was distilled in September 1978 when the distillery was going (relatively) strong, and it has been fully-matured in what I would guesstimate was a refill sherry butt - since when bottled thirty-years later in January 2009 it yielded 370 bottles, at a cask strength of 52.5% ABV. It's also non-chill filtered and naturally coloured. 

The sample for this review came from a generous friend who decided to open and share this very special bottle in honour of his father, who unfortunately passed away earlier this year. A fitting and somewhat-sobering tribute, and a great way of remembering and celebrating his life among mates. My sincere thanks to that particular friend for sharing that moment with myself and the rest of the group - needless to say we were all blown away, and the gravity of the occasion was palpable. Afterwards, he actually handed out sample bottles filled with the same special liquid, so we could re-visit that moment later. And with today being Father's Day in Australia, it seemed like the perfect time to raise a glass!

Port Ellen 30-year old, Douglas Laing 'Old & Rare', 52.5%. Islay, Scotland.

Distilled September 1978, single cask matured (most likely refill sherry butt), bottled January 2009. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. 370 bottles. 

Colour: Gold. 

Nose: Surprisingly bright, clean and fruity. Honey, salted potato chips (crisps), crisp red apples & clean brine. Then a drying coastal ozone-y minerality - think drying sea salt, damp volcanic rock and warm sand. Then salted lemons, a very light earthy peat, and a little warm, damp oak. 

Texture: Light-medium weight, but quite oily and builds quickly. Warming, no heat at all. 

Taste: Starts with that honey & apple again before a beautiful salt-crusted sweet earthy peat builds and becomes quite bold. Drying and astringent salted lemons again, but they're also a little sweet this time. A little green peppercorn, thick clean brine, and hints of burning leafy herbs around the edges. 

Finish: Long length. Sweeter here initially with some syrup and more honey, and candied lemon slices. Then more brine, and that astringency turns things dry with damp sea salt, a chunky, crumbly dry earthy peat and a subtle touch of aniseed. More green peppercorns, maybe even a slight menthol hint? Then the apple and salted potato chips return alongside that earthy peat. 

Score: 4.5 out of 5. 

Notes: What a whisky, and what an occasion! The nose on this Port Ellen is almost confusingly soft to start with, very unlike the other examples of the distillery that I've tried previously (again, admittedly not many), it was so inviting, but also so intriguing - no way would I have guessed the distillery based on the nose! But the palate puts the true coastal colours on show with an almost Campbeltown-like brininess and earthiness, but in a more refined and more integrated way - and with evident maturity. Although the peat influence on the palate remains surprisingly substantial - I've actually come across this before in a similarly-aged Laphroaig and Ardbeg, so I don't think the 'peat fades with maturation' rule is always the case, sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too!

I'm actually going to guess that this cask originally held a lighter style of sherry - there's nothing like a modern Oloroso or PX (duh) cask influence here, even refill - it's far more soft and subtle, more of a balanced, joint effort between spirit and cask rather than a competition or even a fight for the spotlight. Aside from the nose perhaps, there's no lack of character or lack of assertiveness, even at this age. 

What a dram, and what a momentous occasion to be tasting this Port Ellen to help honour the late Fred's memory through his son's generosity. This sort of whisky has a way of reminding us enthusiasts of our mortality, or at least it does me - probably because we know that we'll only enjoy a handful of these experiences in our lifetimes. The gravity of the occasion is not lost on me, nor was it on the rest of our group during our toast. Here's to Fred, and happy Father's Day folks.

Cheers!