Port Ellen Tasting - October 4th - 7 PM

[Willie JJ]

A. D. Rattray 25yo 1982 - 2008 Cask #2466 60.4% (courtesy The Tross)

Nose: Much more peat on this than previous bottlings. Almost like a different whisky. The smoke on the nose is very powerful. Cooked veg. Vanilla.
Palate: Huge waves of peat. I think this must have been a much higher peating level. Very interesting. The smoke is intense, but its hard to distinguish much else. Some citrus.
Finish: Some barley sugars emerge from beneath the smoke, but this is a powerful dram. Really full on in the best Ardbeg tradition.

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 22yo 1979 ( 43%, Signatory Vintage, 8.28.79/6.25.02, Refill Sherry Butt Cask #5537, 53/768 )

SMWS Glass

N: Citrus, lemons, with a hint of bbque smoke
P: Somewhat oily, tons of lemons and a little pepper towards the front of the palate
F: The wood influence is showing, with more lemons hanging out, and a bit more of light spice.

Very easy to drink, not overpowering by any means, but enjoyable.

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 23yo 1982 ( 46%, Provenance, April 82-May2006 in box )

SMWS Glass

N: A fair bit of malt, with iodine, and salty ocean air and some wood smoke.
P: Oh yeah, now we're talking! Very oily, with some peat, charcoal and light citrus fruits.
F: The finish is medium to long here, very pleasant. More peat showing and the oily feel just lasts and lasts.

Thanks again Mikeymad!

[Wave]

I've got one more to taste before going back for seconds, so up now is...
Port Ellen 23yo 1979 Signatory Vintage 56.3% ABV
Refill Sherry Butt -Cask #6774
Distilled: 16/11/1979
Bottled: 24/10/2003

Glassware: Glencairn
Water Added: None

Nose: Dried fruits and coal tar. Peat smoke oozes from the glass
Palate: Sweet peat and slightly sherried with Bing cherry's and plums
Finish: Moderate length. Spicy sweet with slowly dying, drying smoke

A very good PE but not my favorite, not as creamy as I've come to know and love some of the PE's I've had tohight and in the past. I'm really becoming to love sherry and refill sherry casks of Port Ellen over bourbon casked, it seems to add an extra dimension to the already late great Islay!

Cheers!

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 25yo ( 46%, Berry's Own, 1982/2007, Cask #2469 )

SMWS Glass

N: WOW! Lots of peat, this is like smelling ashes from the woodstove, with some salt in the background.
P: Very nice and sweet, really drinkable with candied fruits and some of the smoke showing again.
F: Very balanced and medium to long finish.This PE has everything, very very good example here.

Thanks again Ras!

[Willie JJ]

Plowed Ellen 24yo 1982 - 2004 Cask #748, 61.1% (courtesy Spirit of Islay)

Nose: Gordon you gave this to the right person. I love it. It reminds me of marmalade spread on hot buttered, slightly burnt toast. Amazing!
Palate: and it follows through on the nose. It just makes me think of those holidays in Scotland where the breakfast isn't a culinary masterpiece, but given the location and the occasion there is nothing you would rather be doing. There's a slight bitterness to it, but nothing that would faze a beer drinker. On the contrary it just gives it that strong bitter marmalade taste that appeals to me so much.
Finish: It just has me chewing. Honestly this dram has transported me to the West coast on a cold autumn morning, sitting in a shabby B&B with a terrific view over a sea loch to the hills beyond.

Brilliant. I can understand why this doesn't appeal to everyone, but it really works for me. A really personal dram.

I love it.

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 1982/2007 (51.5%, DDC, Cask #1144, 294 bottles, Royal Mile Whiskies 10th Anniversary bottling)

SMWS Glass

N: Nice on the nose, filled with salty ocean air, definitely reminds me of a trip to the beach.
P: Lots of citrus fruits (mostly lemons) to start, then some wood and a whisp of smoke. Becomes sweeter after you get past the original sour start, this is very interesting.
F: Very long finish, much different from other PE's I've had.

Thanks again Stuart!!

[Willie JJ]

That's me then. 12 drams, no duffers and some simply brilliant stuff. This tasting has really opened my eyes to Port Ellen and has provided me with the equipment to check it out again for some time to come. Thanks to all who took part and see you very soon.

Cheers

[Ryguy]

Cheers Nick!!

I hope everything is ok with your wife Dawn.

[Willie JJ]

Bloody hell Nick is she going to be ok?

[Wave]

Going back for some seconds....

Port Ellen 25yo 1982 Signatory Vintage 58% ABV
Sherry Butt -Cask #2844
Distilled: 11/11/1982
Bottled: 30/11/2007

Glassware: Glencairn
Water Added: several drops of spring water

Nose: Still loads of sherry and smoke, coal tar. Sulphur is gone
Palate: Coal tar, creamy sweet sherry and bonfires of peat smoke even some sulphur undertones like that of unstruck matchs, very pleasant actually. This one has it all!
Finish: Even with the added water it's still very powerful and warming with a long sweet and peaty finish.


Cheers!

[Willie JJ]

Isn't it reassuring when they are so united on a diagnosis

I hope she's ok by the morning. Fingers crossed.

[Wave]

Hope everything turns out fine for the missus Nick

Cheers!

[Muskrat Portage]

Nick:
I hope that Dawn recovers quickly. Please pass on our concerns and warmest wishes for a speedy recovery.

Peter

[Ryguy]

Good Night Nick,

I hope everything works out well with Dawn and that she is doing better very soon!

[Muskrat Portage]

Goodnite Nick.

[Willie JJ]

Night Nick

[Willie JJ]

And good evening to the Muskrat. How's life Peter?

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 24yo 1979/2003 3rd Release (57.3%, OB, 9000 bottles)

SMWS Glass

N: One the nose it's a bit feisty, some lemon and it's all very earthy.
P: Starts sweet with some pepper, then gets really hot quickly.
F: It gets a little dry, with the wood showing some, then it's long with some salt and it gets really spicy.

Thanks again to Stuart for this sample!

[S_tan_De_mon]

Good evening, gents! Sorry that I'm so late. I'm in the process of moving my store; I had hoped to log on earlier. As such, I have been draining bottles and not opening new ones for a time. Sadly, I am down to one open PE bottle, but it is a fine one: A Scott's 1983 bottled in 1997 @56.9%. Will pour a dram and toast all who logged on today. Great PE bottlings and wonderful tasting notes by all. Slainte!

S'tan

[mikeymad]

Port Ellen 23yo 1982 ( 46%, Provenance, April 82-May2006)

This is the only bottle I am brining to this party.... It is a Peat/Sherry bit of goodness.

Good looking beverage, nice red amber color, fairly dark.

The initial sweetness that comes off the nose is supported by the peat background. Earthy notes from the peat, with oranges and wet hay supporting it.

Makes a combo attach on the Palate with Peat and pepper tingle and cooked oranges and cinnamon.

Finish is nice and long the peat grows and fades and the oranges comes back and sits for a while.

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 22yo 1982/2004 ( 61.1%, Douglas Laing - OMC for PLOWED, Sherry cask #748, 264 bottles )

SMWS Glass

N: Very big on the nose, definitely noticing the sherry influence here, it's really sweet with also a hint of sea salt.
P: More of the sherry that I found on the nose, very sweet and nice. It actually get sweeter as you go with some burnt sugar.
F: The burnt but sweet taste is lasting; it's easily one I could chew on all night long.

Very nice dram here! Many thanks to a very generous PLOWEDster in Maine for this sample!!

[Ryguy]

Cheers S'tan! Looking forward to your notes. I hope all is well in the moving process.

[mikeymad]

Good to see you out and about S'tan.....

Good afternoon/evening of PE's..... liked them all

thanks again to Ryan for the additional samples.

Cheers,

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 28yo 1979 ( 53.8%, Original Bottling, 7th Annual Release, 1979/2007, 0170/5274 )

SMWS Glass

N. Briny, with ocean-maritime notes, lots of peat
P. It's oily and is a little sweet to start, something hits the palate immediately that I just can't pinpoint, then some pepper with citrus fruits.
F.Long finish, some peat, spices and wood smoke too

[Ryguy]

Port Ellen 25yo 1979 ( 50%, Old Malt Cask, 1979/2005, n/182 bottles )

SMWS Glass

N: Salty ocean air, seaweed and some peat
P: Somewhat oily and sweet with citrus fruits around as well
F: Even sweeter on the finish with some peat coming through towards the very end.

It's funny actually, when I first opened these 2 bottles (PE 7AR and this one) I preferred this one. But over time they have both changed and now I actually prefer the 7AR. The complexity has held up very well on the 7th Release, and this bottle has seemed to dull out a bit over time (it's still a good one, but not what it was when I first opened it).

[Willie JJ]

Well that was great fun last night. What a difference it makes being able to try a whole bunch of something like PE at the one time. Normally I find myself tasting it in isolation and only once, thanks to jmrl, have I tasted a flight. It really makes these things worthwhile.

Bit fuzzy today though.

[TheTross]

Wish I could have taken part more last night, sounds like you all had a good time!

As promised, I'll be posting some more notes a little later. Doubt I'll get through all the remaining samples today, so I'll concentrate on the ones that were sent to me.

[TheTross]

Port Ellen 10yo (43%, Signatory Scottish Wildlife)

Nose: Soft. Fresh, briny and sweet. Mild peat, soot and ground white pepper. Lots of fruit - yes, including lemon. A tiny amount of coal smoke develops after time in the glass.

Palate: Gently fizzy. A little salt, pepper and peat, but it's the exotic fruit that stands out again. Also quite watery, with just a hint of smoke appearing towards the end.

Finish: Sweet smoke and lightly briny water. Fruity again, with faint peppery notes. The smoke lingers for a long time!


A surprisingly gentle and fruity PE. I liked this one a lot! Thanks to Willie and SOI for the sample!

[TheTross]

Port Ellen 25yo 1979 (50%, OMC)

Nose: Fresh, and incredibly sweet initially with lots of marzipan and icing immediately present. A sprinkling of ground black peppercorns, with sweet woodsmoke drifting in and out. A faint brininess in the background. Very lightly peated and soft notes of red fruit, dark chocolate and mint.

Palate: A little dark chocolate and vague hints of coffee. Quite briny and spicy, with just hints of peat. Citrus fruit (mainly lemon).

Finish: Minty and fruity, with a touch of smoke. The mint sticks around a while, in the form of mentholated rub (Vicks etc), with lemon and a little peat developing at the end.

I found the palate to be quite quiet and hard to describe, which is a shame because the nose was almost perfect! Many thanks to ryguy for the sample (that I'd had for several months...).

[TreacleSponge]

I've just read through all the notes. There are some great descriptions. Do you think this live tasting showed the most varied combinations of aromas/flavours of the ones we've had so far?

Hope Dawn's much better today, C57.

[Ras Mazunga]

Good to hear she's feeling better.

Don't forget to open that HP12 in time so it can breathe.