Port Ellen 10th release (1978)

This is our 600th post on WhiskyNotes. Traditionally, we’re celebrating round numbers with something special.

The 10th annual release of Port Ellen had the lowest yield ever: just 3000 bottles (other releases were generally between 5000 to 12.000). Let’s see how it compares to the others, and let’s hope this wasn’t the final release.

Port Ellen 31 yo 1978 ‘10th release’
(54,6%, OB 2010, 3000 btl.)

Nose: exactly the kind of Port Ellen I like. Peat as a supporting act rather than a show stealer. Quite coastal and sooty, but in an elegant way. Subtle candied notes, a little honey, yellow apples… some vanilla… sweet almonds… Lovely wax as well. Now that I think about it, I adore waxy notes and they’re missing in too many Port Ellens but here it is! Bonus point. Faint medicinal notes as well. Traces of cured meat (cecina de León). Very complex and so smooth! Stunning.

Mouth: again it doesn’t come rolling in. Starts sweetish and spicy before going to salty, kippery and herbal notes. Quite medicinal and ashy now, with sharp lemon. Perfect development, with a crescendo from rounder notes to sharper elements, as if the nose was meant to mislead us before showing its true character. Again wow.

Finish: very long, ashy, with coal smoke, lemon and a bitter /
salty combo.

My first impression was to put this on the same height as my (so far) favourite Port Ellen 7th release. That one shows more emphasis on floral notes and vanilla, but both share a mix of feminine and masculine Port Ellen, if you know what I mean, and these are the most beautiful expressions in my opinion. After a direct comparison, the 10th release is wider and more complex, as well as a little more typically PE, so it deserves a higher score. We have a new favourite.

Priced around € 275 at the time, but now only found at much higher prices. Luckily there’s a fixed distribution ratio among countries, so my best guess would be Spain or Portugal where there are less collectors.

Score: 95/100