Whisky Online Blog

This image from the Vancouver riots seems somehow appropriate for 2011. Almost makes me wish I'd been there. Almost makes me wish it (probably) wasn't photoshopped.

By any measure this has been a tumultuous year, 2012 has a lot to live up to it seems. It’s going to need more than the Olympics and a pile of hogwash about the end of the Mayan calender to compete with what 2011 has thrown at our feet. The Arab spring, an increasingly introverted and suicidal Euro, the UK Economy being run by a bunch of public school boys who still don’t understand why the general population can’t simply inherit some money to ease their financial quibbles. In Britain we had riots, marches, fury, extensive government cuts and a Scottish government of increasing popularity making good their promise and laying the framework for the potential dismantling of the UK. In America they had their own economic woes, they had less money than Apple at one point, and then there was the 10th anniversary of 9/11. Europe finally caved and went begging to China for spare cash, everyone’s favourite EU leader Berlusconi sadly had to go due to his country managing to have some kind of anti-economy based solely on under age prostitution, ‘Bunga Bunga’ parties, whisky faking and bribery. Angela Merkel proved herself to be the Girl Guide of Europe, David Cameron failed to deny he was a Synthetic Android from the Alien film franchise and Nicholas Sarkozy remained short. China continued to become massiver and massiver and to ignore ever increasing grumbles about its rather lax attitude towards human rights, after all who cares what others think when you have that much disposable income. Greece finally collapsed after years of reliance on an economy based solely on plate breaking and Ireland still writhes in the grip of the great cappuccino famine of 2011. This was also the year of the phone hacking scandal where Rupert Murdoch and his underlings managed to create the buck that never stops. Dictators of the world fell like playing cards in a wind tunnel this year, who can forget the blood lusty, yet satisfying way Colonel Gaddafi was gunned down in the streen, HA! Happy times. The most recent one though was North Korea’s comedy miniature despot Kim Jong-il who died, we can only assume from reading his official biography, from the fact that he never defecated. An impressive feat although it did explain why he spoke utter shit for most of his life. His copycat fat son is everyone’s favourite to win Despots On Ice 2012. Oh, and Bin Laden got shot in the head by Navy Seals. Apparently the reason he wasn’t forcibly extracted back to US soil to stand trial was that he was defending himself with automatic loaded wives, or something like that according to a memo from the CIA. So, a tumultuous year all in all.

But what about the year in Whisky? Well as the above image suggests it was a very good  year for publicity stunts. Dalmore, Macallan, Glenfiddich, Old Pulteney, they all clambered over each other, slavering at the gums like hounds of the baskerville with marketing diplomas. Desperate to conquer the squalid back pages of the press with their fetid little bling bottlings, or to tell us that Jim Murray, the greatest gift to whisky since domestic violence, had endorsed their product with his latest super score. There were other things afoot in whisky as well with the ‘world’ whiskies starting to finally gain the recognition they deserve. People continued to complain about the Ardbeg Committee with staggering levels of naivety, as if it was actually supposed to be some kind of exclusive country club instead of a big, oily marketing engine that runs on raw, self perpetuating nonsense. Maybe in 2012 people will actually stop complaining and realise that it is the way it is and they can’t help it so just stop approaching me at festivals and complaining to me because I happened to work at the distillery for two summers while at uni as if that somehow means I can just call up someone at Moet Hennessey and ‘have a wee word’. Gosh it feels good to get things off your chest. In related Ardbeggy news, the great blender Rachel Barrie left Glenmorangie and headed to the Bowmore/Glen Garioch/Auchentoshan stable and proceeded to say some very encouraging things about future production methods, although I’m still waiting for a reply to a comment I made on her facebook status about doing some more peated Glen Garioch, time will tell. The rush for Port Ellen 11th release drove consumers into a frenzy of mindless violence that ended in further outbreaks of rioting throughout the whisky shops of Europe. Lady Gaga got five cases though.  Whiskyfun turned 9 this year on July 28th, selfishly only 8 days after my own birthday thereby overshadowing that event in the whisky calender for so many people. I’ll get you yet Valentin (shakes fist). There has been much speculation over what Serge will do once Whiskyfun turns 10. However we all know he will convert the site into an online scores auctioneering base where companies bid thousands of euros (or francs depending on how things are looking come August) a time for whatever score he is offering that week. The first score will be 98 points and we know Inverhouse are already putting together a bid for their new non-aged, Iron Bru finished An Cnoc. Good times ahead.

The Hadron Collider, a big player in the whisky scene of 2012? Also don't do what I just did and run a google image search for 'Large Hardon Collider' by mistake.

So what does 2012 hold for whisky? I suspect we will see even higher prices, more fakes, the pointlessness of the ‘most expensive bottle ever sold’ war will spiral into the cosmic belly button of utter despair and consume all who dare venture near, like a black hole of fat, sweaty bollocks. The German Independent Bottling market will continue to blossom providing the best whiskies and the best prices. Kilchoman will continue to get better with age. Richard Patterson will host a tasting in the Large Hadron Collider. Ralfy will move to Sky One. Joel and Neil from caskstrength.net will open for the Pope at Glastonbury. Fred and Stuart Laing will merge into a single, two-headed person like Zaphod Beeblebrox from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The Port Ellen 12th release will be released in the style of Red Cross aid parcels in Ethiopia. UN soldiers will throw armfuls of them into baying crowds of angry whisky lovers armed to the teeth with pitchforks and ipads and just hope for the best while a representative from Diageo looks on via a satellite link up and calmly motions to his minions to begin ‘phase 2′. The Olympic opening ceremony will be sponsored by Bruichladdich, Jim McEwan and Boris Johnson will open the show with a beginners guide to Coopering. Octomore will be peated to 1 trillion ppm thus causing a tear in the space time continuum and creating what is known as a ‘phenolic irregularity’. Dave Broom will be the new Doctor Who companion and Martine Nouet will be the new Doctor Who. Daftmill will buy Diageo, George Osborne will retire from politics and re-open Brora with his vast personal fortune and Nick Clegg, finally overwhelmed by his spineless guilt, will commit suicide live on national television by downing a thousand miniatures of Edradour. So an exciting year for us all to look forward to.

Be sure to tune in for Nick Clegg's 'dram with destiny' in 2012.

On a personal note it is difficult to comment too succinctly on a  year that was racked by so much intensity, belt tightening, death and downright misery, purely because for me it was far and away the best year of my life. I travelled and made some of the best friends I’ve ever had, I found a great new job, moved into the best flat I’ve ever lived in with the best flatmate I’ve ever had and I’m in a position where things seem to be looking up. I am, in short, incredibly lucky and I try to realise it every day. So the final tasting of 2011 will be one themed around starting as you mean to go on, at least for as long as possible, I’m not sure how many more great Brora tastings I’ll be able to do..? A worrying thought indeed.

Brora 1970-2002. 32yo. Douglas Laing ‘Old & Rare’. 58.4%. 70cl. 

Huge thanks to Wayne for opening this beauty.

Colour: Straw Gold

Nose: Why do other distilleries bother making peated whisky? This is just another typically perfect early Brora. A myriad of farmyard, industrial, coastal and medical qualities with farminess taking the initial lead. Just beautiful! Opens up slowly with lemon skins, oils, mineral notes, pebbles, sea salt, camphor and tar. Sea air, brine, coal and a perfect underlying waxiness. It’s definitely leaning more towards coastal guises now. Lots of sea spray, lime juice, olive oil, seaweed, white flowers, sandalwood and tcp. It’s just massively fresh and vibrant. Just stunning, lets see if water can improve it even further… With water it just becomes almost hyper coastal, like raw sea water and oysters. Lemon juice, raw peat smoke, old kilns, iodine.

Palate: Massively oily on delivery, like boiler sheds, thick green peats, tar, peat oil, drying medicinal notes, smoked cereals, sea water, green olives in brine, hay, hessian and treacle. Smoked vanilla (?), chilli oatcakes, black pepper, Riesling, melted butter and chopped chives. Shellfish, crab meat, smoked mussels, fresh lemon juice, cured ham and more salt. With water: a really luxurious, elegant peat comes through now, loads of olive oil, bonfire smoke, burning grass, wax, smoked cereals, peppered mackerel and some wonderfully farmy notes of engine oil and horse stables.

Finish: Very long with drying peat smoke, wax, cereals, tar, white pepper, burnt toast, camphor and fish oil.

Comments: Another incredibly Brora, I think the 1970 and 71s were not quite as stellar as the 72s in my opinion. It seems like they were still experimenting and constantly tweaking the recipe, in 1972 they must have got things very right. However, this is all relative as this one is still galaxies ahead of most modern peated malts.

Score: 94/100

Brora 1972-1995. 22yo. OB Rare Malts. 61.6%. 70cl.

This is one of several truly legendary early Broras from the Rare Malts series.

Colour: Gold

Nose: Ouch! The word beast could have been invented for this one. Imagine a peat, honey, salt and turpentine smoothy and you’re not far off. Quite closed even after a long time in glass, aggressive and difficult but even with all that grumpy, miserly austerity it is still quite beautiful. Struck flints, big, raw mineral notes, hay, horse stables, burnt grass and old petrol cans. A true powerhouse whisky. I think we’ll add a bit of water straight away… with a little water it starts to freshen out a bit, salt, lemons, limes and a nice manure quality all start to make themselves felt. Becomes intensely ‘Brora’ with a huge farminess and notes of coal fires, seaweed, parsley and wax. Lets try another little bit of water: it actually got even better, now its super fresh, leafy, smoky and very medicinal. A stunning and perfect mix of all the classic Brora characters. This is one of those whiskies that swims like a fish, it absolutely needs careful time with water to bloom, but when it does, my god it’s magnificent.

Palate: Neat it is an aggressive bag of gravel, wet earth, green, concentrated peat oil and feisty minerals. Some farmyard hints of stables, hay, horses and tar then muesli, rope, wet leaves, coal and mercurochrome. With a first dilution… wow, a perfect profile, all on minty, leafy peats, all kinds of wax, a dazzling array of coastal notes and different oils. Perfect but lets try a little more water anyway… the peat gets even oilier, almost simmering like an old Ardbeg, oily, fat and mouth coating with a wonderfully farmy dirtiness. Superlative notes of seaweed, tar, tcp, bread, olive oil, brine, anchovies, kippers, black and green peppercorns, hummus, matchsticks and more salt. It’s quite incredible really, we’d best stop.

Finish: Ask me in 2013 how it’s coming along

Comments: I’ve wanted to taste this one for a long long time and, thanks to the generosity of Mr Brora (aka Serge) at D-Day I was finally able to. All I can say is these bottles are now expensive for a very good reason, they’re fucking brilliant whisky. Water is essential with this one, even adding it in increments it seems to change drastically with each new dilution. You could literally play for days if you had a full bottle, adding a little water, then a bit more whisky, seeing just how epic you could make it, mind the ‘ground zero’ of perfection if you like. There’s nothing being made anywhere in the world today in my opinion that can hold a candle to this kind of whisky. Maybe for 2012 the industry could look to the past a bit more for future inspiration.

Score: 96/100

Whatever happens next year I hope you can all become happier, wiser and more aware in everything you do and achieve. Enjoy the simple things in life, strive to make things better for yourself and all those around you. And above all, don’t take things too seriously.

Happy Hogmanay from all of us here at Whisky Online. Slante!

Angus. 31/12/2011

Seeing as this series is in danger of becoming the ‘Rocky’ of whisky blog posts I think this will almost certainly be the last one. After Port Ellen, Ardbeg and Lagavulin it seems logical that we will cover Laphroaig, the final Islay southerner. So unless someone wants to send me a stash of old 73/74 Longrow or early 70s Brora samples then I don’t think we’ll see parts five or six anytime soon.

Anyway, without further prattle and ado…

Laphroaig 20yo. Douglas Laing. OMC. Sherry Hogshead. 50%. 70cl.

Had this sample kicking about for some time, sadly no image to go with it I’m afraid. I adore sherried Laphroaigs though so I’m keen to try this one.

Colour: Dark amber

Nose: A strange kind of grizzly fruitiness at first. Very Laphroaig, loads of tincture, iodine, tcp and other medicinal qualities but with a lovely metallic edge like wet iron and steel wool. Smoky bacon, dried herbs and salt, bacon crisps? Flat cola, peat, cola cubes, hot tar, rope, root beer, wet earth and hints of dark rum. Quite a superlative nose really, great distillery character but with that classic, surprisingly clean, sherry slant. Unctuous, leafy, salty and thick with big notes of liquorice, key lime pie, lemon curd, wax, hessian, flints and other assorted mineral notes. Gets quite briny with a thick and turfy peat quality with some nice dried dark fruits. Great stuff, very enjoyable.

Palate: Massive, syrupy peat on delivery with big drying sherry right behind it, reminds me a little of some old peated Glen Gariochs (high praise indeed) with more earth, dried mushrooms, tcp, mouthwash, liquorice, charcoal, barbecue sauce and some lovely green fruits. Very medicinal, lots of medical sub complexities with big herbal liqueur qualities as well. Baked apples, smoked mussels, creosote, cola syrup, tobacco and seaweed soup. A perfect balance of sweet and dry.

Finish: Lemon curd again, fresh oysters, brine, menthol toothpaste, hessian, creosote, tar, tcp, wax and fading green fruits.

Comments: I really love Laphroaig in sherry and this one doesn’t disappoint. Displays the very best attributes of the modern style and is probably helped a lot by a top notch sherry cask. Clean, vibrant, resinous and powerful. Douglas Laing seem to have a had quite a few of these fresh sherry cask Laphroaigs from the late 1980s recently. Lets hope there are still plenty to come because they’ve all been great so far.

Score: 91/100

Laphroaig 1981-2008. 27yo. OB. Five oloroso sherry casks. 736 bottles. 56.6%. 70cl. 

Huge thanks to Nick for this one.

Colour: Dark Rosewood

Nose: A different level of sherry entirely. Super thick and intense with a much more subdued level of peat. At first its all on fresh tar and concentrated aromas of charcoal, dates, prunes, figs and other dark fruits. Lots of sultanas stewed in cognac, furniture polish, salted brazil nuts, chocolate, molasses, natural caramel and hot fudge. A very rare instance where the sherry has taken over from the peat, quite a potent cask selection indeed. Definitely need time. With a bit of patience it starts to become much more tropical and accessible. There is also a much bigger coastal presence, lots of wet rocks, seaweed, beach bonfires, iodine and kipper notes. Some resin, wax and putty as well with a slowly encroaching aged peat quality in the background. Very earthy, dry, thick and syrupy. Notes of cola and gomme syrups and something like redcurrant jam. With water: a tropical fruit and nut cocktail now. Lots of soft tropical notes on top of crushed walnuts, pecans and salted almonds. Then lighter vegetal qualities, more tar, geraniums and salted dark chocolate.

Palate: Neat it is a powerhouse of a Laphroaig, orange bitters, peated marmalade (what) burnt wood, barbecue sauce, masses of molasses (ha), herb liqueur, rancio, wild mushrooms, cola cubes again, bacon, brown sauce, tar, lashings of medicine and a warehouse full of dark, fruit laden sherry. Drying and moist like swallowing a whole Guinness cake. Loads of mixed nuts, phenols, quince jelly, muesli, juniper, gentian root, root beer, coal, creosote, salt cured meats and bovril. A monster of a Laphroaig, but more so because of the sherry than the peat it has to be said. With water: ok it’s softer but it is still very drying, thick and syrupy. Lots of fat eucalyptus notes, seaweed, tar, smoked fish and black pepper. A smattering of mineral notes and then more leafy fruitiness, orange and lemon notes with bay leaves, thyme and ginseng tea.

Finish: Incredibly long, like waiting for the credits to roll on Return Of The King. You practically have to scrape your mouth clean of peated sherry afterwards. Buy a new toothbrush!

Comments: In any other whisky this level of sherry would be too much for me and I’d be tempted to mark it down but the sheer power and force of personality that Laphroaig possess seems to have held everything together brilliantly, although I doubt these casks would have made it to 30. Fantastic, a whisky for those that like them black and potent (unless you’re a Loch Dhu fan in which case you’re on the wrong blog). Anyway, a real power house dram, intense, extreme and brilliant.

Score: 94/100

Laphroaig 1964-1981. Berry Brothers & Rudd. Sherry cask. 43%. 75cl.

Sadly no picture for this one. A rightly legendary bottling from Berry Bros.

Colour: Amber/Brown

Nose: A stunning combination of resinous peat, crystalised and tropical fruits and perfect sherry. This is followed by super dense coastal notes, raisins, wet earth, coal dust, aged cognac, smoked almonds, marzipan, hints of rancio and a little aged antiseptic. Just brilliant, one of those perfect noses. Ancient dry phenols, peat, wax and little dustiness. Then fresh oysters, preserved lemons, smoked mussels, camphor, and some phenomenal vegetal and herbal notes. I could go on but I might never taste it, a staggering nose.

Palate: Enormous, fat, drying, dusty, organic peat. Completely covers and engages every part of the palate, then an avalanche of tropical fruits, an incredible delivery. Develops along more complex lines with dark brown sugar, old vanilla, honey, camphor, pine resin, huge herbaceous notes and a big growing saltiness. Notes of salted beef, sarsaparilla, gentian eau de vie, root beer, dark chocolate, seaweed and yet more drying peats. Lets stop this wonderful, wonderful madness.

Finish: Long and filled with waxy peat, herbs, vegetal, earthy and coastal qualities. Then finally a mineral and beautiful fade.

Comments: One of those bottlings that makes you remember why you’re into whisky in the first place. Massive at 43% in a way that only Laphroaig seems to be able to pull off. A masterpiece of complexity, poise, intensity, length and balance. Brilliant!

Score: 95/100

A legendary old Samaroli bottling of Laphroaig

Laphroaig 1970-1986. Duthie for Samaroli. 720 bottles. 54%. 75cl. 

No much needs saying about this legendary bottling. Eternal gratitude to Patrick for these last two drams.

Colour: Straw Gold

Nose: A mesmerising combination of seashore, coastal and fresh peat aromas. Hugely complex with lashings of citrus, oysters, salt, iodine, mint, kippers, white pepper and old rope. Develops onto tar, seaweed, coal dust and, after time, luscious notes of fresh lime juice. Then eucalyptus oils, more pristine saltiness and massive notes of brine that lend the whole nose a stunning freshness. Just incredible really. Perfectly dry and a complex with exceptionally elegant notes of minerals, smoked tea, old style peat and, eventually, fruit. The fruit is perfectly tropical but also surprisingly resinous and crystallised which lends the whole profile an extra layer of depth and complexity. With water: some super salty blue cheese, lemon juice, papaya, coal dust again, more minerals, buttered toast, herbs, shellfish and peat oils.

Palate: A tropical whirlwind. Just epic amounts of passion fruits, guavas, greengages, melons and lemons. Absolutely brilliant delivery. Further notes of fragrant smoke, black pepper, smoked cereals, tar, green peat and motor oil. Still massively coastal and balanced. With water: Not too much change, the coastal aspects got a bit bigger till they’re almost equal to the fruits. Layers and layers of complexity that I can’t even begin to get into now, salty, tropical, oily, peaty and medicinal in myriad ways, it just keeps on going…

Finish: No comment!

Comment: An utter masterpiece. This is the sort of bottle that really sets the bar for all others to be measured against. At least I think it does.

Score: 96/100

Well that ties up this little series of masterpieces quite nicely. It’s been a pretty devastating path of uninterrupted peaty beauty, one that leads only to the point where you could instantly start again or go for something new and equally mind blowing. We’re all searching for the new, the unknown bottling, all seeking the next hidden masterpiece. Sadly, as with all whiskies of this calibre, that is not always an option and one day, probably in the not too distant future, it will stop being an option for every body. These bottles wont last forever, the liquid will inevitably die, although, long before that happens, they will already be out of grasp to any buyer. When there are only three and then two bottles left of the Laphroiag 1970 or the Port Ellen 1969, what will happen then? I think distillers should be made to taste whiskies like these ones, if the people that make whisky don’t know how good it can be, if they don’t fully comprehend the organoleptic heights to which these spirits can soar then how can we ever hope to make whisky this good again. There are many who say it can’t be done but that is complete baldershit if you ask me. It is purely a recipe, a process governed by the whim of chemistry and practice. Great whiskies like these could be made again. It just needs someone with the will power to do it, the understanding of what made the greatest whiskies so great and the balls, madness and sheer bloody mindedness to do it.

Oh and money. Lots of money. Perhaps therein lies the problem. Perhaps someone should donate a sample of Ardbeg Kingsbury 67 to Bill Gates and see if he fancies taking a punt on funding a distillery…? Just an idea.

So after my previous post where I explained the motivation of this little series as being to attempt to wind up those who taunted me with their tales of drams wild and glorious while I was entombed in a whisky-free world for much of this year (admittedly by own hand and design but still), now comes the second part. Last time I gorged myself on some stunning Ardbegs. So lets see if we can match that with a modest bundle of Port Ellens today. This should also be interesting as we’ll look at examples from two extremes of the distillates sixteen year lifespan and at a variety of ages as well. Gentlemen… start your engines!

Port Ellen 1981 17yo. Cadenhead’s. refill hoggie. 294 bottles. 46%. 70cl. 

Sorry the photo doesn’t give too much away as the label is very faded.

Colour: Well Oaked Chardonnay

Nose: It’s clearly a 1980s Port Ellen, it has those background dirty tones but it’s younger, more grisly and much fresher. Huge notes of fresh lemon juice, oysters, mercurochrome, minerals, riesling, butter, cooking apples and pin sharp salty notes. The peat is green, smoky and very awake so to speak. Lots of bonfire notes, plastascine, icing sugar, cut parsley and delicate notes of tar. Brilliantly fresh and invigorating.

Palate: Wet rocks, pebbles, a whole coastline, manure, sheep’s wool, coal, peat bogs, engine oil, butter, dried herbs, wild garlic, what a brilliant profile. The peat is kind of resinous and encrusted with salt, salted cod, cured ham, brioche, lemon cake icing and more tar. There are loads of coastal driven and slightly industrial complexities in this one, I can’t be bothered to go through them, it’s just brilliant.

Finish: Long and sharp with more of these crisp coastal elements. Again the word that springs to mind is brilliant.

Comments: Tasting this, you begin to wonder how many of the casks now being bottled from this era in their late twenties are already past their prime. The 70s stock can age beautifully but can the 80s stuff do the same? On the strength of this it seems that they might well be over the hill… lets see with the next one.

Score: 92/100

Port Ellen 1983 27yo. Douglas Laing OMC. Refill Hoggie number: 6780. 217 Bottles. 50%. 70cl.

Colour: Very light honey

Nose: This is obviously richer and more mature than the 17yo but it is also much lighter and less intense, it is almost mentholated by comparison. Here we have lots of mean and honey liqueur, with big notes of herb syrups (does that exist?), wet pebbles, oily coastal notes and hessian. Notes of peated treacle (that bloody well should exist!), rooty and earthy peats, marzipan and fresh crab meat. Clearly the same distillate but fascinating to see what has happened after another ten years in the cask. It’s still very beautiful but that flush intensity has gone and in its place is this oily, honey driven, phenolic and more fruity creature.

Palate: This is much more what we’re used to these days with Port Ellen, hessian, steel wool, a ton of minerals, wet pebbles and granite, white fruits, dried seaweed, a slightly earthy dirty note and graphite oil. Lots of kippers, salt, lemon juice, tincture, iodine and tcp, quite medicinal really. It’s less herbaceous on the palate and more peppery, ground black pepper, brine and black olives. There is a a slight note of malt vinegar as well, like fish and chips.

Finish: Again this is long, salty, slightly reminiscent of wet earth, paint stripper, coal, white fruits, tar and old rope.

Comments: It’s still great, but it’s not quite a stunning as the 17yo, still that may be entirely down to the casks. However the clear consistency of style in the distillate is quite wonderful. Makes you remember what a great dram Port Ellen so often is.

Score: 90/100

Now lets get a bit younger…

Port Ellen 1978-2000. 21yo. Douglas Laing OMC. 342 Bottles. 50%. 70cl. 

Colour: Straw

Nose: Wow, a very emphatic and elegant young Port Ellen. Typically 1978 in that is much cleaner in style, very coastal, very fresh but also has more of the old style fruitiness still attached. It seems that 1978 really was Port Ellen’s ‘change’ year. Some wonderfully luxurious citrus notes of lemons and limes on top of warm honey, wet rocks, flints, minerals, wet pebbles on a beach, beautifully and perfectly coastal in my book. Develops then a kind of pin-sharp ashy smoky quality, bonfire ashes, wet wood smoke and kiln fires. Some slightly green notes of unripe plums, gooseberry jam, cut grass, turpentine and paraffin wax. Graphite, pencil shavings, earl grey tea, peat oils and smoked oysters. Quite a fragile and beautiful Port Ellen.

Palate: Much louder and more boisterous on the palate, concentrated peat oils, sea salt, tcp, tar, coal dust, peated mead (if such a thing doesn’t exist then maybe it should), linseed oil, kippers, pickled herring, fresh crab meat and seaweed. This gets more and more coastal all the time. Develops some sushi flavours like wasabi and soya sauce with more of these slightly fresh fish qualities. Lemon icing, some dried herbs, more drying notes of brine and minerals and a thick smokiness. Quite a wild Port Ellen but very fantastic. A very stormy dram.

Finish: Long and warming, back to the quieter, more elegant style of soft saline notes, lemon oil, cereals, fragrant bonfire smoke and minerals. The calm after the storm . (oh please!)

Comments: A stunning little Port Ellen. Probably sold for about £45 pounds at the time or something equally misery inducing. It’s quite incredible how many great casks Douglas Laing had over the years. Further proof that there was quite a bit of change in the house style between 1978 and 1979. Modernisation?

Score: 92/100

Thanks to Oliver for opening this wee beauty.

Now the same vintage but older again…

Port Ellen 1978-2008. 30yo. Douglas Laing Platinum. 423 bottles. 54.3%. 70cl.

Colour: White Wine

Nose: We’re clearly back in the style of 70s Port Ellen, more green fruit qualities and the peat is more concentrated, simmering and kind of lush if that makes sense. Still lots of minerals and coastal notes but also a wonderfully clean savoury quality with notes of bread, muesli, coal, soot, hessian, lamp oil, petrol, wet pebbles, moss and kippers. It’s the most fragile profile so far out of the three and but that fragility is very enchanting and works very well, it’s not at all tired or dead in any way, it seems to lend it a heightened complexity. With water it opens up with all kinds of aromas of lemon drops, seashore, sandalwood, bathing salts, seaweed, coal and fresh herbs.

Palate: Neat there is a wonderful delivery of smoked mussels, fish, crab meat, preserved lemons, wax, erasers, pencil lead and some background tropical notes like mango and pineapple. Develops some thick notes of vanilla cream, peat oils, smoked grist, custard and bonfire smoke. It also has some medical notes like tcp, aspirin and mouthwash but they have a fascinating aged quality to them. With water it gets drier and saltier with more coastal emphasis and notes of old rope, hessian and old books.

Finish: Long and full of glistening peat, motor oil, hessian, seaweed, coastal freshness and lemon wax.

Comments: I think there are better examples of old Port Ellen out there but that is getting into nit picking territory, this remains a stunning dram. There really isn’t a distillate quite like this, yet another true individual from Islay.

Score: 91/100

Now we’ll get younger again…

Port Ellen 15yo 1980-1996. Cadenhead’s. 62.5%. 70cl.

Similar series as the 17yo but two years younger and at a rather ball-shuddering strength.

Colour: White Wine

Nose: Understandably closed at first nosing, salt, notes of mid-quality sake, rice cakes, some plastacine and a flicker of green peat. We’ll leave it a few minutes but I think water is obligatory here… With water: Ahhh, another entire seashore in a glass, a characteristic that only Port Ellen seems to be able to pull off. Heaps of lemon juice, smelling salts, gentian root, caraway seed liqueur, coal, wet pebbles and a quarryfull of minerals. A further drizzle of water brings out wet earth, fresh leaves, moss, newly cut grass, green peats, white pepper, sea spray, brine and yet more lemon juice (lemon juice seems to be the calling card aroma of many a Port Ellen).

Palate: At full strength it is a burning bruiser full of engine oil, fragrant smoke, seaweed, sea salt, intense lemon juice and not much else, methinks water is again rather essential for this one… With water: immediately more expressive with lots of these very sharp and intense coastal notes which is very in keeping with the nose but it is also unexpectedly fat and buttery, these notes of freshly chopped parsley arise again as do notes of fresh butter, smoky bacon, charcoal, turpentine, mocha, cocoa and wild flowers. It has elements of a 1978 era Ardbeg, only with about 10x the power. Now with a second dilution we get lots of iodine, wet minerals, sheeps wool, some wonderful farmy notes and touches of wax. A stonking dram!

Finish: I’l let you know when it ends…

Comments: I think that Islay whiskies are too closely associated with the word ‘challenging’ these days. I’ve said before that either you like the flavour of peat or you don’t. This is one of those real and rare occasions where the word challenging is totally appropriate. The power and difficulty of this whisky lies, not in its peat level, but entirely in its bold and utterly uncompromising distillate. I adore it but many will find it just too much. It really needs water, almost demands it, but if you work with it, it’s a stunner.

Score: 92/100

And now… (drum roll please)…the cherry on the cake…

Port Ellen 1969-1984 15yo. Gordon & MacPhail. 62.2%. 75cl. 

Colour: White Wine

Nose: We’re in a different ball park as far as styles of distillate go. This is is much earthier, rootier, herbier, more medicinal and industrial although there is quite a bit hidden underneath that high strength again. More camphor, limes and more wax but as far as the coastal aspects of the profile goes we are actually pretty close to the two Cadenhead’s bottlings. Lets add some water… water turned it into a bag of salt. I’m not kidding this is just crab meat, salted cod, cured lamb, fish and chips and red wine vinegar. Massive profile. After time we start to get green peppercorns, heavy peat smoke aromas and notes of herbal toothpaste. Wow! Now we’re starting to get some utterly stunning tropical notes of guava, passion fruit and mango, ala 60s Bowmore. Those aromas just came out of the blue but they are getting bigger and more beautiful by the minute. A further dilution brings more tropical notes, more leafy notes and more fragrant smoke.

Palate: Neat… What a stunning delivery. The height of concentration and intensity is just another level from the others. Huge farmyard notes along with bags of familiar coastal character, tar, iodine, tcp, peppered and smoked mackerel, liquid creosote, old pipe tobacco, smoked cereals and little hints of green fruits. Need water… water made it more old style and seemed to accentuate those farmyard qualities. Further development on notes of black tea, chinese spices, gin, juniper, grapefruit, aniseed, more tropical fruits and buttered toast. With a little more water we get more of these spice notes, little wood tones, cereals, peat oils, smoke and tar. I’d better stop this is getting ridiculous .

Finish: Akin to downing a yard of brine.

Comments: There isn’t much to say here. It’s a huge privilege to taste Port Ellen from the 1960s. And it’s another totally uncompromising and totally brilliant dram. I was hovering around the 92 points mark until those tropical notes started to appear and then… well…

Score: 94/100

Lets see if we can top that one with another slice of history…

Port Ellen. 1974-1988. G&M for Sestante. 65.5% 75cl. 

Colour: Straw

Nose: At full strength it is surprisingly approachable, although the rumblings of a complete beast are unmistakeable. Huge, pristine saltiness with lashings of ash, lemon juice, seashore and brine. If such a thing as ‘salt oil’ were to exist I’m pretty sure this would be the aroma of such a thing. Whiffs of intense peat and white spirit, with further touches of granite, minerals, flints and wet rocks. Very mineral, intense and coastal basically. Almost certainly needs water and time. Although even as I type there are some wonderful tropical touches beginning to emerge, very similar to the 1969 but only in this one they seem to be appearing without water. Salted tropical fruit salad. Lets add some water now: with an initial drizzle of water it doesn’t change too much, still all on lemon juice ,salt and oysters with little tropical flourishes in the background. Lets try a second drizzle of water that should take it down into the mid-high 40s abv wise. Ahh now this is interesting, some oriental spices, hoy sin duck sauce, greengages, apple peelings, unripe grapes, tart young Riesling notes and cereals. You could play with this stunner for hours with water.

Palate: WAHHH! Jaw partially dissolved! After some medium-extensive recovery time I can confirm intense saltiness and lemon juice and not much else at full strength except raw, potent spirit. Hang on while I go get a five a gallon drum of water… with the first dilution of water it has opened up pretty spectacularly, lots of antiseptic, toothpaste, resinous peat oils, camphor and salted fish. These tropical notes from the nose are not particularly present on the palate, it is more focused on coastal qualities. Big notes of mercurochrome and a wonderfully metallic oiliness. After more water we get a huge, luxurious, drying, mouth-coating whisky that is all about green peats, menthol, wax, tar, tcp, salt, peppered mackerel, little hints of orange peel, bay leaves, whisky bitters, caraway seeds and hints of herb liqueurs (good ones). A true beast that is both wild, unsexy, near impossible to tame and, at the same time, utterly beautiful.

Finish: Long, resinous, crusty salt, lemon oils, salted wax (???), tarmac, smoke, ash, antiseptic and gentian root.

Comments: This is the sort of whisky you could only really have one dram of at a time, it’s so fantastically wild. You could also have a lot of fun with water as well though, it’s got enough strength that you can dilute in several stages and watch it change. It absolutely needs water to be drinkable but, like many of these super high strength (62% +) peated malts it can be fun to dilute and then refortify with a little more neat whisky (if you”re lucky enough to have a full bottle). The kind of dram you need to take a serious amount of time to get to know. Still a small masterpiece all the same, not far from the 1969.

Score: 93/100

And thanks again to Olivier for this one.