Port Ellen 1983 (Malts of Scotland)

Let’s compare yesterday’s Port Ellen 1983 by The Whiskyman to this similar release bottled a few weeks ago by Malts of Scotland. Dominiek Bouckaert, the man behind The Whiskyman, is also the importer of Malts of Scotland in Belgium.

Port Ellen 28 yo 1983 (58,9%, Malts of Scotland 2011, bourbon hogshead, MoS 11011, 267 btl.)

Nose: it shows the same balanced mixture of briny coastal elements, sooty smoke and rounded fruitiness. Lemon and walnuts. It would be difficult to differentiate between the two, but maybe this MoS version develops a tiny bit more sweet vanilla / dried fruits over time, which is nice, but differences are really small. Both excellent.

Mouth: powerful on the palate again. In no particular order: peat, smoke, bags of lemons, sweet grapefruit, pepper, brine… Similarly nervous. Again a tad more candied or is this my imagination? In the end there’s a hint of bitterness. 

Finish: similar length, similar flavours, similar quality.

Another Port Ellen of very high quality, difficult to pick a favourite so let’s not do that. Good news for those who missed out on the Whiskyman release. This Malts of Scotland version has just arrived in stores. Around € 200.

Score: 92/100