This particular Port Ellen was distilled in 1982, just a year before the distillery closed. It's bottled as part of Vom Fass's Fassination series, though the label says that it's from Hunter Laing and Co. Did Hunter Laing buy the stock from Port Ellen 30 years ago to mature it themselves? Or did they buy it off Diageo after maturation? So...Vom Fass bought it from Hunter Laing? Why didn't Hunter Laing sell it themselves? Mystery.
This baby is 30 years old, and there are only 30 bottles available worldwide. If you've read my blog from its very beginning, you'll know this bottle - it was the one I saw at Vom Fass, but walked away from. Really glad that my friend DW bought it instead of some random rich Indonesian businessman. I was really excited when DW decided to open this as part of his housewarming celebrations. Cue mass horror, paralysis, shock, stasis and gnashing of team when the cork broke in the bottle. DW did not have a corkscrew in his new home, and thus, the Port Ellen was literally one inch away, but we had to pass it by.
After going home, DW unplugged the bottle, and decanted its contents into a wine decanter temporarily. The stopper wasn't airtight though, so better bottles needed to be sought quickly. I went back to Vom Fass, and this is the result:
It filled two 250ml bottles and about 3/4 of a third. I licked the funnel and the spare drop from pouring, and it was excellent. And rather unglam.
We sealed the two full bottles with tape, and tried the whisky from the last one.
Port Ellen 30, bottled by Vom Fass, 16 of 30 (53.1% abv)
Colour - Rich gold. The cask is a refill hogshead. It looks fairly viscous.
Nose - My goodness. Ok, let me get this down in order. Lemon citrus, really fresh. How? This is 30 years old, right? And that's the first wafts that comes up too. Smoke behind the lemon, and really salty. This is a beach! Salt, and suggestions of algae. Fairly sharp sea breeze with the saline levels and citrusy touch. Oak, liquorice, freshly shaven wood. Subtle fruits here, though I can't quite pin it. I would say something like...ripe peaches. But it's subtle. Some spices - pepper and ginger. The peat is somewhat muted, more vegetal than medicinal. Give it some time, and it gets a little malty and meaty - oatmeal porridge with a bit of salted fish-infused ham. No, that doesn't exist.
Palate - This texture is unique. Like nothing I've had before. It's so fat and viscous, it feels like gel rather than liquid. A blob of whisky instead of a sip of liquid. Really, really full on the mouth. Leathery and chewy, as advertised. This is mind-boggling. Initial burst of smoke, and a lot of sharp lemons, before settling down. The spices - pepper and ginger - are there throughout. Oak is fairly present, but a really nice support for the smoke. Salty and savoury, though not bacon territory. Maybe a lightly smoked ham that's been blanched or soaked in soup for a while - reminds me of the ham they put in your macaroni with soup in Hong Kong's cafes. But with smoke. The fruits are, as they were on the nose, fairly subtle. Pears, peaches, and a hint of...chiku? That'll be sapodilla, for those of you in colder climes. There's a touch of sawdust on this palate. There's a growing minerality - copper and limestone, that somehow goes really well with the viscous texture. That's an amazing development. 30 years well spent.
Finish - Long, lingering smokiness. The lemony citrus stays too. Fairly drying, and strong hints of tea tannins. Salty and gingery/peppery. Somehow, still somewhat metallic. There's wood too. Metal and wood - that's basic materials for Civilizations building.
Overall - Mind-boggling, and amazing. I hope that this isn't the last Port Ellen I will ever taste. And, many thanks to DW for sharing it so generously.
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