Port Ellen 26yo 1982-2009 50% Old Malt Cask Douglas Laing cask#5398

Port Ellen Distillery needs no introduction, I believe. This one comes from a refill butt holding no less than 712 bottles. Butts have usually matured sherry or wine prior to whisky. I remember this one was sold at norwegian Vinmonopolet for about 100GBP back in 2009 when I bought it. And at that time it was seen as very cheap Port Ellen. Nowadays, any single malt whisky over 18yo at 100GBP is seen as an affordable one in Norway. How time flies... The color is golden. It smells coastal, seaweed, sea salt, dried fish, dry white wine, malt syrup, peat smoke, tar, smoked bacon. The taste is peppery, peat, cinnamon, ginger, honey, chillies, mushroom soup, earthy, leather. What a great surprise, 26 years on oak usually tames the peat quite a bit, but not in this one. The finish is caramel, black pepper, soy sauce. Adding some water. Now it turns simpler, more malty notes and a subtle peppery character.

What a whisky, seems younger than 26, a real beast: 8



Next tasting: Ardbeg Distillery

Fettercairn 33yo 1975-2009 50% Old Malt Cask Douglas Laing cask#4939

First things first, I'm sorry about the crappy photo, but that's what I get when I forget to bring my camera to the cabin, and use my cellphone instead. This one comes from a bourbon hogshead, and have previously gotten my attention because it was quite cheaper than many other old bottlings in this series. Time to see if that's just, or was this another affordable liquid treasure. The color is auburn. It smells cream cracker, butter bisquits, heather, honey, vanilla, oranges, figs, dates, vanilla curd, meringues, light perfumy, toffee, coconut oil, peppermint, marzipan, caramel. I could sit and nose this for hours, it reveals just a bit more with every new sniff. It's not a rough whisky, and it's not a massively sherried or oaky one, it's just perfectly refined in every sense of the word. Not an off-note in sight, but still massively complex due to all the layers of different light/sweet aromas.  The taste is heather again, vanilla sweetness, waxy, stearic, ginger, beetroot, banana liqueur, oaky, leather, hay. Leaves a little more to be desired. Time to add some water. Now it turns sweeter, more honey, lavender, syrup, floral, camphor, nougat, cinnamon, lime peel, sweetness and bitterness in harmony. The finish is cinnamon and peppermints, herbal lozenges too.

A bit too gentle for some, I presume, but use your time and it'll show there's magic to be found: 9



Next tasting: Port Ellen Distillery

Laphroaig 11yo 1998-2010 61.3% C&S Dram Collection cask#700286 btl#168

There you go, another CS Laphroaig vintage 1998. Finding these were like catching fish in a pond a couple of years back. And many has been great! I remember I had a sherried one from same vintage and same series a while back, great stuff. The color is golden, natural, of course. It smells burnt, peat smoke, camphor, gasoline, burnt, vanilla, herbal tea, ashes, but most of all it's gasoline. I've never found such a strong scent of petrol in any malt before, at least none that I can remember. The taste is very strong, salmi, dry licorice, leather, charcoal, smoky, burnt rubber, gun smoke, burning tires, very extreme. Its like, I'd imagine, chewing on gunpowder. Not very medicinal, coastal, or typical Laphroaig, but a beast nonetheless. Lets add a few drops of water. Now it turns richer, sweeter, more vanilla, scented candles, cinnamon, leather, hay, some mineral notes, greens, junipers, a bit waxy and floral, coats my tounge well and leaves this thick sumptuous sweetness in the finish. When neat, the finish was too strong to really enjoy for me. I have to admit I'm still impressed by the young CS Laphroaig bottlings.

A bit unusual in style, a rich, complex Laphroaig, yet extreme in every way: 9

Next tasting: Fettercairn Distillery

Talisker 8yo 1995-2003 46% High Spirits S.r.l.

The cork stopper dissolved when i first opened this bottle. I don't know if that has affected the quality of the spirit. Let's hope not. Independently bottled Taliskers are rare, but maybe even rarer at such a young age. The color is golden. It smells sweet, malty, roasted nuts, wheat flour, grainy, corn cobs, baked beans, horseradish. Not a very coastal Talisker. Little peat as well. The taste is grainy, beans, cauliflower, musty, quite plain so to speak. Lets add some water to try bring some life to this youngster. Now it turns into a more heathery, perfumy thing, old yarn and denim is what I find initially. Water also makes it more full-bodied with aromas of butter and sea salt. It leaps up a few points with water in my opinion. The finish is briny, on leather and peat. Much better now. 

Water and air helps make this a very pleasant experience: 6

Next tasting: Laphroaig Distillery

Port Ellen 18yo 1982-2001 43% The McGibbon's Provenance, Winter Distillation

If my memory serves me right, I believe The McGibbon's was a lower strength range from newly deconstructed Douglas Laing. I also remember this one getting a bit of criticism for not being true to the Port Ellen style, when it was first released. Sherry and peat can be a disastrous mix indeed, but also work very well together. The color is brown. It smells a bit of leather, seaweed, dried grains, vinyl, rubber, not a very pungent nose. The taste is sweet, licorice, peat smoke, leather, coffee beans, kopi luwak, not a complex one, by far. Maybe adding water will release some more flavors. Now it turns less demanding, if possible, just some caramel and brown sugar. I'd say, though this is both low strength, oak-drivan and rather young, one would expect much more complexity from a PE. The finish is rubber and peat.

For sherry freaks, not peat-lovers: 6

Next tasting: Talisker Distillery

Caol Ila 21yo 1974-1996 60.5% Signatory Vintage cask#12592 btl.847/980

These old CS handsigned Signatory bottlings are become rarer with every day that goes by. It's quite a strength at this age, but I believe the new-make held a higher strength back then. The color is golden. It smells vanilla, tarry, ashes, sooth, black pepper, salmi, iodine, peat smoke, brine, Caol Ila for what its worth. The taste is a frenzy of peat, smoke and peppery notes, highly entertaining, hardly complex. Adding water. Now it turns milder, gentle, some hints of vanilla and peat, we're hardly on Islay anymore. How strange, did the alcohol level deminishing make this whisky's total spirit deminish. The finish is quite light and short, some peppery notes and a bit of wallpaper glue.

I'm sorry, adding water totally ruined this one: 6



Next tasting: Port Ellen Distillery