Signatory 30th Annv Port Ellen 1982

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This 35 year old Port Ellen is from a single Refill Sherry Butt, bottled 55.1%. It is exclusive in Canada to KWM. We purchased a dozen bottles, and just 2 are left! 93pts Serge @Whisky Fun!

Andrew's Tasting Note

Nose: savoury with a fine balance of elegant smoke, juicy fruits and salty maritime tones; Alaskan King Crabs and Nova Scotia Lobster dipped in butter; soft oily peats, dried kelp and ripe fruits: honey dew melon, lemon, pineapple and candy apple; salted caramel and white chocolate.

Palate: creamy, fruity and savoury with more clean elegant smoke; the seafoody-maritime notes continue with scallops poached in butter with a balsemic reduction; more lobster and crab; the soft fruits are still there, as is the vanilla and salted caramel; still oily and tarry with a touch of Dutch licorice; the tropical fruits pop up again, ripe, expressive and a touch waxy; more bright lemon; silky and seductive.

Finish: big, coating and very elegant; tarry oils, clean smoke, savoury seafood, salted caramel and long lingering lemon and tropical fruits cloaked in waxy vanilla.

Comment: this is one of the oldest Port Ellens I have ever tasted, and it does not disappoint; there is an almost perfect balance between the oak and original spirit character; time has imubed tropical fruits and silky-waxy character; superb!

93pts Serge

"Port Ellen 35 yo 1982/2018 (55.1%, Signatory Vintage, 30th Anniversary, refill sherry butt, cask #2040, 567 bottles) Five stars
Paw! Colour: straw. Yes, only straw, greatest of news. Nose: there are three words in the name of the cask: refill, sherry, and butt. The one that’s important is ‘refill’, in my opinion. Indeed, there’s no embarrassing raisins in sight, no half-sulphur, no prunes on a binge, and no unnecessary spices. Rather a very subtle, almost whispering coastalness, with ideas of langoustines, kelp, crab, drops of petrol, and the most complex softer olive oil, the one that’s made out of those small pink olives, the name escapes me. Wonderful complexity here. With water: charcoal, beach bonfire, cigar smoke, lanoline, paraffin… It remains rather incredibly soft and elegant. Hope the palate won’t have gotten weak and flat (yeah right). Mouth (neat): well, given the soft nose, I had thought the palate would be easy and almost smooth indeed. I lose, game, set and match. In truth this is a wonderful example of a Port Ellen that became akin to some kind of peated and tarred limoncello. Add bits of seashells and olives, and there, you have it. Indeed, it’s not a matter of complexity, it’s a matter of cohesion and fullness. With water: please call the Anti-maltoporn Brigade, sofort! Once again, it’s not spectacular, it’s not very complex, it’s not even loud on the markers (tar and such), it’s just a splendid, perfectly chiseled whole. Port Ellen. Finish: and there, it gets more extravagant, more citrusy, almost youthful. Only there, in the aftertaste, we shall feel one or two raisins from the sherry. Comments: seriously, it’s incredible that it would have remained this vibrant, despite the thirty-five years in that old butt. But then again, it was refill...SGP:467 - 93 points."

700 ml