My final report of the Fulldram “televoting tasting”. A Port Ellen 1983 bottled by Malts of Scotland from a refill sherry cask.
Let’s repeat that Port Ellen was produced as a young blender’s whisky, kind of an instant peat blast you could add to a blend. Casks were never intended to be bottled at 25-30 years, so it’s especially the inactive casks (useless when still young) that are now the best ones.
Port Ellen 27 yo 1983 (56%, Malts of Scotland 2010, refill sherry cask MoS66, 322 btl.)
Nose: clean and coastal. Coal smoke and grist. Wet rocks. Citrus zest. A soft sweetness in the background. Well-balanced peat. Hints of olive oil. All good. Hardly any influence of sherry – probably second or rather third fill.
Mouth: again mostly coastal notes and fresh citrus zest talking. Some grassy notes. Oysters with lots of pepper. A bitter ginger tonic note as well. Grapefruit.
Finish: long, smoky with some liquorice.
A clean, mineral Port Ellen. Unlike some of my favourite Port Ellens, there’s no vanilla or wax to be found, but among the more austere PE’s it’s perfectly fine. High quality comes at a price though: around € 190.
Some stores still seem to have stock.
Score: 89/100