port ellen

by **kildalton** » Sat Sep 16, 2006 10:12 am

In Your opinion how much Port Ellen is left?
I presume there were tons of casks when the distillery closed but years are passing fast...
So I'm very curious to know if someone has any idea on the subject
(and I hope not to reply a already done topic, in case I apologize)

by **Drrich1965** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 1:40 pm

Well, at least four bottles (in my whsky case ).. :wink:

A great question. And a side question, based upon how the whisky has been maturing, and on people's experience with bottelings that are now well into the mid twenties; how long will it be "good" for. If the malt seems to do well until 25, for example, but not much after, we only have about two years to go (given Port Ellen closed in 1983). If the whisky seems to have the muscle to make it to 30, than there is about 7 years left...What is clear is that the younger expressions will most likely be more diffiuclt to get as the years pass, and if it really is similar to Caol Ila, as the past owners of the distillary thought it to be, than what of those bottles?

Rich

by **Lawrence** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 5:55 pm

There are two sources of Port Ellen, the OB and the IB. If we GUESS from the declining number of bottles in the OB Annual Releases and the 5th had about 5100 bottles and the third was 9000 then you can draw your own conclusions. The owners are not saying.

The IB's are a different matter since there is an unknown number of Port Ellen casks stored away all over Scotland. There seems to be new releases all the time but I suspect that as the average age approaches the high twenties then we''ll see less and less.

by **kildalton** » Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:20 pm

very good point of discussion the one relative to the age,
in effect there are no so much clues about the drinkability of old port ellen.
I can add that the oldest expression of which I'm aware is a silver seal bottling 1969 31 y.o and I was told it was outstanding(but i never tasted it directly).
I suspect that most will depend on cask quality and initial quality of spirit,
anyway if I don't err the 6 release it's a 27 y.o so I'm awaiting the tasting notes

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 12:18 pm

Had not been paying much attention to this topic until I visited the Whisky Exchange and saw how much Port Ellen they have for sale.

Now stocks may or may not be low but it seems to me that everybody is trying to make out this is really really scarce with all the single cask bottlings available and the majority under the £120.00 mark . Call me synical but to have all these expressions still available and at a reasonable price for a closed distillery would lead me to believe that there is more about than demands is meeting. With 62 different expressions available on WHisky Exchange I would not start panic buying just yet.

Time for me to try one out though :wink:

by **Mr Fjeld** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 4:05 pm

What you say makes sense Adrian. Also, I think it has been mentioned on the forum earlier that most Port Ellens are not really expensive for their age. Several other "working" distilleries charge more for their + 20yo whiskies.

.....by the way - Jonathan let me taste his 3'rd release some time ago and it's the best whisky I've ever had the pleasure of tasting!

Christian

by **Wave** » Mon Sep 18, 2006 10:05 pm

I'd love to get some of those PE expressions from The Whisky Exchange, unfortunately their shipping to the US is a tad too steep for me (£37.00 for 1 bottle), so I'll just have to stick with LFW & RMW for me Scottish buys.

Cheers!

by **Lawrence** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:51 am

Wave wrote:I'd love to get some of those PE expressions from The Whisky Exchange, unfortunately their shipping to the US is a tad too steep for me (£37.00 for 1 bottle), so I'll just have to stick with LFW & RMW for me Scottish buys.

Cheers!

Yikes! LFW charges £17.00 per bottle.

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:14 am

Lawrence wrote:LFW charges £17.00 per bottle.

Yes, and if your bottle's price is £100.00 or more, the shipping is offset by not paying VAT. That's always a consideration when you're standing in the shop on the next-to-last day of your trip and there are already eight bottles in your luggage.

Duty is another matter--just have to cross your fingers there.

by **Wave** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:58 am

Lawrence wrote:
Wave wrote:I'd love to get some of those PE expressions from The Whisky Exchange, unfortunately their shipping to the US is a tad too steep for me (£37.00 for 1 bottle), so I'll just have to stick with LFW & RMW for me Scottish buys.

Cheers!

Yikes! LFW charges £17.00 per bottle.

It's really not all that bad considering we don't pay the VAT, so in some cases like the PE 6th Release I just got from RMW I paid less (about £2.50) with shipping charges than what a person in the UK would have to pay with the VAT.

Duty is another matter--just have to cross your fingers there.

In my last 3 trips to Scotland I've come back with an average of 10 bottles a trip.
Duty paid: $0

Cheers!

by **Deactivated Member** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 2:51 am

No, I've never paid duty on bottles brought back--I was referring to ones shipped. I haven't paid on any of those, either, but I've only had a couple sent, and I have had to pay duty on other things (clothing) shipped, so it does happen. My understanding is that US duty on booze is 3%--if so, that's not too onerous. But I wouldn't be surprised to be surprised, if you know what I mean.

by **irishwhiskeychaser** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:31 am

MrTattieHeid wrote:No, I've never paid duty on bottles brought back--I was referring to ones shipped. I haven't paid on any of those, either, but I've only had a couple sent, and I have had to pay duty on other things (clothing) shipped, so it does happen. My understanding is that US duty on booze is 3%--if so, that's not too onerous. But I wouldn't be surprised to be surprised, if you know what I mean.

Maybe they are adding up all you get in and waiting to give you a decent bill :lol: