This is the 2015 release of Port Ellen in Diageo’s Special Releases series, distilled shortly before the distillery closed in 1983 and matured for 32 years in refill European Oak butts.

The nose is luscious with peat, orange peel, heather, smoked salmon, honey, vanilla, and a hint of pipe tobacco. The taste is intense, smoky, and pungently peaty with notes of clove, charred oak, toast with blackberry jam, and touches of toffee leading to a hint of smoked salmon as the spices fade. The finish is long and smoky with an excellent balance of spice, peat, and sweet notes, notably caramel apples, toast with blackberry jam, and a hint of honey. A few drops of water adds additional honey and spearmint notes on the palate while accenting the rest of the flavors well. Excellent! (January, 2016)