Port Ellen
Fact Sheet
Founded: 1825
Closed: 1983
Last owner: United Distillers (Diageo)
Stills: 2 wash, 2 spirit
Capacity: 2.25 million litres per year
Location: Port Ellen, Isle of Islay
Notable Facts: Port Ellen was closed and partly demolished during the economical crisis of the early 1980s. The modern maltings of Port Ellen – built in 1974 – continue to supply many Islay distilleries with malt. The warehouses store casks of Lagavulin.
Report of my visit to Port Ellen
Bottlings
March 25, 2012
A rather delicate peaty dram with very subtle flavours. Very nice but not quite on par with other Port Ellens I have tasted. – Rating: 85/100
September 20, 2011
An incredibly rich peated sherry monster, the savoury quality is stunning. There is much more going on in it than my puny tasting notes can describe. – Rating: 92/100
December 31, 2010
After giving it a little time to open up this malt devlops into a festival of maritime and spicy flavours accompanied by fruity chords. A whisky not too far away from perfection. – Rating: 93/100
December 22, 2009
This is an extremely complex malt with aromas that seem to come and go in waves during time. Flavours are so concentrated that you could delay it 1:1 with neutral spirit, water it down to drinking strength and still have an excellent dram. – Score: 94/100
July 19, 2009
No peat monster but perfectly balanced with the wood influence caused by long maturation. Both complex and subtle as no aroma tries to dominate. – Score: 93/100
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May 5, 2012
For the first time ever I was able to attend this legendary whisky festival this year, albeit for one day only
October 10, 2011
I received an invitation for this year’s Whisky Show organized by The Whisky Exchange at Vinopolis in London. Even though it was not quite easy to fit this into my schedule, I decided to accept anyway.
August 3, 2011
Now here is a true crunch question: What do you think about using whisky for mixing?
June 20, 2011
Kilchoman distillery on Islay launched their new 100% Islay expression on the 16th June. But the pricing of the cask strength version that is sold only at the distillery gave me shock.
June 17, 2011
Yesterday’s 10 Essential Things About Scotch Whisky Everybody Should Know was the theory. Here comes the practice.
May 25, 2011
During my Scotland whisky trip I made quite a lot of experiences that are not really worthy of an entire blog post but should not go unmentioned nonetheless.
May 22, 2011
Like Knockdhu, Glendronach is only about ten miles away from Huntly close to Forgue, so with the help of a lift I could visit this distillery as well. Retired distillery manager Frank Massie showed my around the place.
May 21, 2011
After the Spirit of Speyside Festival my travels led me to the eastern part of the Speyside region. I had made an appointment for a visit at Knockdhu distillery where anCnoc whisky is produced.
May 18, 2011
Stewart Buchanan, the distillery manager of Benriach held a tasting of his whiskies at the Spirit of Speyside Festival. It started out as your usual distillery tasting, but it turned into something very special.
May 12, 2011
Some distilleries are not normally open for visitors. Only for the Spirit of Speyside Festival Diageo opens the doors to Mortlach.
April 3, 2011
Almost a year ago I wrote a little rant about the anachronism that is the German Beer Purity Law (Reinheitsgebot). This time, believe it or not, I spring into defense of German beer.
February 21, 2011
Distillery manager Charlie Smith in person hosted a masterclass at the Munich festival. I was delighted to see that their two top bottlings (25yo and 30yo) were poured, along with the 12yo FOCM bottling and the 18yo.
January 1, 2011
Just before Christmas I was enjoying a celebratory dram or three with my old friend Keith Wood of Whisky-Emporium.com and as often happens after a few Drams and when the night draws in, we set about putting the world, or at least whisky world, to rights.
November 10, 2010
Year of Birth: undisclosed
Place of Residence: Seeshaupt, Bavaria, Germany
Profession: Accountant and Engineer
Whisky Involvement: Internet retailer
October 24, 2010
Year of Birth: 1975
Place of Residence: Kfar Saba, Israel
Profession: Software development
Whisky Involvement: Blogger
October 8, 2010
Year of Birth: 1957
Place of Residence: Malmö, Sweden
Profession: Writer and Publisher
Whisky Involvement: Malt Whisky Yearbook
October 5, 2010
There has always been a debate about collecting whisky. Some say “Whisky is made for drinking. Period.” while others have shelves full of bottles that are unlikely ever to be opened at all. What is your view on collecting whisky?
September 14, 2010
In many articles about whisky you can find statements like “The difference between Scotch an bourbon is that Scotch tastes smoky”. This is a generalization that is simply not correct.
September 11, 2010
Year of Birth: 1962
Place of Residence: Glasgow, Scotland / Isle of Man
Profession: Undertaker
Whisky Involvement: Video commentator
September 5, 2010
Place of Birth: Leeds, Yorkshire, England
Place of Residence: Erding, Bavaria, Germany
Profession: Business Analyst, currently unemployed
Whisky Involvement: Reviewer and commentator
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