Review by: dustbunna
This was a curious bottle to come across, well-dusted on a shelf. I had heard Ellenstown mentioned once before, on One Nation Under Whisky. There’s not a lot of info available on the bottler, Marshall’s Whiskies– as far as I can tell, they were a small private independent based in Edinburgh, and their website, despite still being kept alive, has not been updated since around 2006.
The Ellenstown label was reserved for their single malt releases, all undisclosed distilleries and all single cask bottlings at cask strength: a 16yr Speyside, and a 10yr and 12yr from Islay. With mystery Islays the typical go-to is to say it’s Caol Ila, of course, but from various sources I have heard this 12yr rumored to be Caol Ila, Lagavulin, or Ardbeg, and the majority I’ve read lean toward Ardbeg. Given its bottling age (pre-2006) and its age statement, that puts this squarely in Allied-era distillate if it is, in fact, Ardbeg. Let’s see what it has to offer.
Distillery: Unknown (rumored Ardbeg).
Bottler: Marshall’s Whiskies.
Region: Islay.
ABV: 52%.
Age: 12 years. Bottled in 2006.
Cask type: “Oak.”
Price: $100 USD.
Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.
Bottle open across approx. 9 months, notes taken leisurely across that period. Bold notes taken beneath the shoulder, regular-formatted notes taken further into the bottle past the halfway point, italicized notes taken towards the heel.
Nose: entirely lime candy up front, some mossy smoke, tar, rope, sea spray, guava, some other tropical fruits I can’t quite place, burlap cloth, lemon drops, goes in a more maritime/mineral direction.
Palate: medium-full body ~ crisp and precise, some more lime candy, minerals, an extinguished campfire, green melon, more guava, develops ash and some floral notes in the background.
Finish: long ~ strong campfire smoke, ash, liquorice tea, grass, green melon and guava carry through from the palate.
Conclusion: First impressions here were pure, crisp, elemental whisky, but it softened quickly to a nice balance of sweet fruit with minerals and wood smoke. The lime candy note is something I find very specifically in Ardbeg, though this is one of the cleanest and fruitiest I’ve tasted so far– a different style than the modern stuff, for sure. As the bottle approaches the heel, some of the fruit and minerals begin to expand in a lovely way, and I do wish that had happened earlier on. All in all, this was simply a superb Islay, firing on all cylinders and sitting right up with some of the better IB Caol Ilas I’ve had. If it is Ardbeg (and all the signs are there for me) it’s a quite solid refill bourbon cask that wonderfully displays a slightly older style of distillate.
Final Score: 90.
Scoring Legend:
- 95-100: As good as it gets. Jaw-dropping, eye-widening, unforgettable whisky.
- 90-94: Sublime, a personal favorite in its category.
- 85-89: Excellent, a standout dram.
- 80-84: Quite good. Quality stuff.
- 75-79: Decent whisky worth tasting.
- 70-74: Meh. It’s definitely drinkable, but it can do better.
- 60-69: Not so good. I might not turn down a glass if I needed a drink.
- 50-59: Save it for mixing.
- 0-49: Blech.
Malt Runners 