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I must admit that I am an avid fan of Islay malts; this will
probably come as no surprise to many people as there are
millions of us “Islay” fans out there praising the merits of
Ardbeg, Laphroaig, Lagavulin and Bowmore. That is not to say
that these are the best whiskies, they are probably amongst the
most famous and well known, but only the real whisky fans will
comment that “What about the others!” The “others” and almost
forgotten malts of Islay are of course Bunnahabhain,
Bruichladdich, Caol Ila and not forgetting Port Ellen. It is
with Port Ellen that we will continue. In 1982 we saw the last
distillate come off the stills at this site; little did we know
that in years to come this spirit would grow to become one of
the most sought after Single Malt Whiskies, but who was to know
that the demand for the Islay style malts would blossom in the
last part of the 20th century? United Distillers, at that time,
put most of Port Ellen into their house blends and only a small
proportion was sold to independent bottlers for bottling as
Single Malt. Today, you can still see the Doig designed pagodas
behind the large maltings that occupy the Port Ellen site. Over
time Port Ellen has become rarer and rarer and the retail prices
have grown and grown. It is almost 20 years since the distillery
closed but there has recently been a spate of bottlings of Port
Ellen (most of which is kept on the mainland). Official
distillery bottlings of Port Ellen are rare. Only the Rare Malt
22 year-old Cask has been generally available from Diagio GB,
but as of late they have decided to release a new bottling and
that is the Port Ellen Annual Release. A limited numbered
bottling of 6000, aged for 22 years at 56.2% volume, retails for
£135. It is a very austere packaging technique that they have
used to promote this new edition. The box is all black save for
a bold white label with prominent bold letter advertising its
location and a small embossed logo in the bottom right corner.
The smoky green bottle is similar to the rare malts design but
does not mask the colour of the spirit, which is surprisingly
light. The whisky itself is a multitude of layers but not
incredibly complex. You get the typical phenolic nose with that
underlying soft sweet background followed by a nose-tingling
smokiness that does not overpower the senses too much. This
sounds great, but the best is yet to come! With it being cask
strength I would probably try a small amount neat, to experience
the warm, smoky glow that you get with high levels of alcohol.
The complex fruity-smoke vapours caress your throat and leave
you speechless for a few moments savouring the depth of
character in such an appetising malt. Then with it dilute it
opens out showing its fruity aspect and its soft oily background
that lingers impressively on the tongue for many minutes. It
seems unfair that there is such limited stock of this marvel for
public consumption but it has to be experienced as Port Ellen is
a rapidly dwindling resource and prices will soon be shown in
auctions rather than in your specialist whisky shop. There is
however good news to finish and it is as it is an Annual Release
there will be further bottlings of this most elusive of Islay
malts. I can’t wait.
About forty miles North of Islay is the rugged island of Mull,
famous for its cheeses and its maybe not so famous whisky. The
main town is Tobermory, about an hour’s journey from Oban (by
ferry). It is the picturesque harbour that catches the
imagination and the brightly coloured housing on the quayside
that gives the town a quaint appearance. It is also the location
of the Tobermory distillery, founded in 1798 by John Sinclair.
However the distillery had formerly gone under the name of
Ledaig (pronounced “Leychuck”) and the now Tobermory distillery
also produces a malt of the same name. Until a few years ago the
whisky that came from this site was called a “pure malt”, an
indication that it was a vatting. These days it is proudly boxed
as a fine 10-year old and is a good “gateway to the isles” for
the novice malt drinker. Turning to the Ledaig itself, this is a
more peated version and has more pronounced sherried hints in
comparison to its little brother. There is a limited quantity of
“old” Ledaig but the version that I recommend is Gordon and
Macphails Rare Old Ledaig 1874, this is a 25 year-old version
bottled at 40% and retailing for £87.00. The nose has a
delicate, malty, fruitiness and there is a whiff of the ocean in
its depths. The malt clings to the side of the glass not wanting
to be released. There is a warm, briny introduction with a
delicate pepperiness and soft sherried fruits emerge with the
addition of some water, the brine lingers on and on reminding
you that this is a coastal distillery and the salty air
contributes to the character of this underestimated whisky. I
hope you enjoy my recommendations and spare a thought for those
lost distilleries whose now precious resource is diminishing by
the day. Slainte.
by Duncan Ross, Milroys of Soho
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