The new Daily Dram bottlings are now called The Nectar of the Daily Drams which is a nifty word play with the old name and the name of the bottler (The Nectar). I’m not sure why they did this, maybe because they are now bottled exclusively for Belgium and the previous range was a co-production with the Dutch importers Bresser & Timmer?
The label design has changed as well, for the better I think. The new labels use modern colour combos, interesting pictures and a clean typography.
I know a lot of people are looking out for this 27 years old Port Ellen 1982 so let’s try this one first.
Port Ellen 27 yo 1982 (53%, Daily Dram 2010)
Nose: peaty and coastal. Seems to hold the middle between a briney, mineral profile and a more warm profile. There’s praline, marzipan, pears and vanilla but also sharper grassy notes, boat ropes and hints of citrus. Smoked bacon. After a while, there’s lovely cider apple. The complexity is quite excellent, and on the nose this is more elegant than most other 1980’s Port Ellens I’ve tried. Water amplifies the sour notes and adds a few candied, fruity notes.
Mouth: rather creamy, with enough lemon marmalade to counterbalance the peat. Sugared lemon. A bit of ginger and oak. Again hints of marzipan. Water brings out cardamom, leather and lemon desserts.
Mouth: long, smokey and rounded.
I’m sure this Port Ellen will be difficult to find in a couple of days. Around € 200. Totally worth it.
Score: 92/100