Port Ellen 31 Year (1982) First Editions

Review by: The Muskox

This is a special one – it’s my 200th Islay whisky review! I meant for this to coincide with my 750th scotch review, but I missed it due to a counting error. D’oh!

It’s also my first Port Ellen! Around these parts, it’s much cheaper to try some of the rarer ghost distilleries than the big three of Brora, Port Ellen, and Rosebank.

Distillery: Port Ellen.

Bottler: First Editions.

Region: Islay.

ABV: 56.8%. Cask strength.

Age: 31 years. Distilled in 1982. Bottled in 2014.

Cask type: Cask #0339, a sherry cask.

Price: N/A, sample.

Color: Pale gold. Natural Color. Non-chill-filtered.

Nose: Complex, shifty, layered. There’s so much going on, but the first thing to strike me was fish! Fish sauce, cod liver oil, Worcester sauce… some kind of anchovy-ish savouriness. Near the surface are orchard fruit of apple, nectarine, peach cobbler. More savouriness and earthiness – steak pie, roasted beets and cauliflower, celery, roasted red peppers, dandelion greens(!)… just all the veg notes. There’s brine as well, coming across as wet beach mud and combining with the savoury to get sort of a cheddar note. Aged notes: parchment and creamy tea.

Aaaaaand some more notes that I won’t even try to rationalize emerged over time: Lychee, caramel corn, Darjeeling, ginger tea, béarnaise sauce, and bacon-wrapped figs.

Palate: Oily texture. Arrives with wine gums and poached pear, and with the savoury fattiness of crab legs dipped in butter. Oily earthy peat smoke in the middle. There’s an undercurrent of rich spiced sweetness – honey, Angostura, browned butter. It just gets darker as it develops, with phenols, iodine, and even deeper earth emerging. Strong oak, but not overpowering. Wet tree back, but in a good way! Montreal steak spice and grilled asparagus.

Finish: Long and roasted. Floral and earthy – sandalwood, creamy black tea, beets, petrichor, and stewed greens. More salted fish and peppered steak. Apple crumble. A hint of rubber.

Possible SMWS bottling name: “Dr. Rusty Mango’s New York Chophouse and Buck-a-Shuck”

Conclusion: This is… so much like drinking a steak dinner. It’s incredible. That nose though… despite all the veggies, it’s sweet and soft and rounded. I haven’t encountered such a distinct savoury fishy note before. The palate is rather bitter, but it pulls back just before getting overpowering. Endless complexity. I have no idea if this whisky is representative of other similar Port Ellens. I hope it is.

Final Score: 93.

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.

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