Port Ellen 1978 Rare Malts: TWE Show Report

Hey everyone,

At the show I wanted to try stuff I might never get the chance to try again, especially at little cost (compared to normal).

So I was able to try the Brora then walked over to another stand (scotchwhisky.com) and tried a Port Ellen (for 2 dream drams). This really blows the old Brora away. Sorry not sorry Brora.

Port Ellen Rare Malts 1978 20yo 60.9%

Colour: Gold

Body: Medium/Full

Nose: Not what I would expect from heavily peated Islay. Old school oak (good refill), floral, some tropical fruit, perfumed smoke, black pepper. Talisker-esque for me.

Water: More perfume, floral, elegant. Biscuit and malt.

Taste: Soft. Wait, what? Islay at 60% alc and it lands like a feather on the tongue. Perfumed smoke, floral, tropical fruit, black pepper, old school oak. It builds.

Water: Soft, great balance, building spice with more black pepper, very very oily with green peppercorns.

Finish: Long length. A tonne of chocolate! Epic. Water brings more oiliness, olive oil and more oak.

89/100

Amazing stuff. Really not what I was expecting from a heavily peated South Islay distillery at a high strength. But a pleasant surprise.
Actually it reminds me a lot of a Talisker, which is always a good thing. Very very different to its brothers on the same stretch of shore.

Review #210

Network Average: 75.4

Best Score: 92

Worst Score: 44

0-49 Terrible

50-59 Bad

60-64 Just About OK

65-69 Ok to Good

70-74 Good

75-79 Very Good

80-84 Excellent

85-89 Superb

90+ Magnificent