Established on Islay's south coast in 1825 by A K Mackay and Co., Port Ellen is reputed to have been the first distillery to have incorporated Septimus Fox's spirit safe design into the distillation process. Its innovations did not stop there, however. After having been taken over by the shrewd and energetic John Ramsay in 1836, Port Ellen bec ... Read More »
Elements of Islay Pe3 is something of a departure from its predecessors in that it is the first Pe to be bottled from an ex-bourbon cask. As a result, Pe3 is a medium-bodied, very medicinal, bandage-y malt rather than an overt full-on sherry monster like its siblings. It's also a bit older, having been distilled in the 1970s.
A 1981 vintage Port Ellen, bottled by Gordon & Macphail for the Connoisseurs Choice range way back in 1999. Quite rare to see a Port Ellen under twenty years old these days.
A refill sherry PE from French independent bottler Jean Boyer. This is from a single cask bottled at cask strength for JB's modestly-titled 'Best Casks of Scotland' series.
A single cask of 23 year old Port Ellen from the 1982 vintage bottled at 49% by Douglas Laing offshoot Douglas of Drumlanrig for the Italian market. Douglas of Drumlanrig bottles are endorsed (and purportedly selected) by the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, the UK's largest private landowner.
A rare Port Ellen 1983, originally bottled for travel retail by Douglas Laing for their McGibbon's Provenance series. this is from a single refill butt and sounds very good from the bottler's tasting notes.
A lovely old mid-1990s Connoisseurs Choice bottling of Port Ellen from the not-often-seen 1980 vintage. Anything from Port Ellen bottled at less than twenty years old is quite rare these days, so this is a bit of a find.