Port Ellen Pe2 Elements of Islay Speciality Drinks Ltd. 59.5% 2009

Distileerderij
Bottelaar
Serie
Gebotteld voor
Gedistilleerd op	.
Gebotteld	2010
Land	Schotland
Streek	Islay
Leeftijd
Cask Type
Vatnummer
Alcohol percentage	59.5
Inhoud	0,5
Conditie	Perfect
Etiket	Perfect
Voorraad	0

Professionele reviews

Serge Valentin (87)

Colour: dark amber. Nose: starts on smoked ham, goes on with smoked ham and develops even more on smoked ham. Right, I’m joking but there are bags of ham indeed, as well as hyper-mega-huge whiffs of struck matches. It’s the best example of a malt whisky where those notes can be quite fabulous and not obligatorily a flaw. What’s more, I think those kinds of aromas are quickly filtered by our olfactory bulb and after two or three seconds, whoosh, gone. So, smoked ham, big yet evanescent whiffs of struck matches, then roasted chestnuts, a lot of cigar ash, kilos of dark chocolate and cocoa, gravel and clay, soot and, as often in PE in my experience, tar. Quite extreme. With water: a tad more vinegary, as often. Balsamico. Then old roses, ambergris and benzoin – what a change. Mouth (neat): very creamy, very rich yet zesty (not as zesty as the 1983 though), with an attack that’s a tad unusual with sherried PEs. Less on soot/tar/ashes/cocoa and rather more on lemon and roasted nuts, with a big smokiness in the background. Funny touches of ‘acidic’ fruits, kiwis, rhubarb, grapefruit… What’s also quite striking is the youth here and in that sense it’s close to the MoS. It could have been a 12yo whisky and btw, I’m wondering if it spent all its life in sherry. With water: the leathery/rubbery notes are back. Finish: long, citrusy, leathery, gingery, not very ‘sherry’. Unexpected notes of bubblegum. Comments: I’m in a moral dilemma here. There were and still are many ‘better’ sherried PEs around in my opinion (DL, JMcA, Pe1 of course – WF 93) but this one displays many unusual and interesting aspects. A bit of conservativeness will be de rigueur…

Words of Whisky (89)

BOW (90)

Nose
First impressions in the glass: chocolate, very old leather suitcases, balsamico, then a faintly leafy sweetness. Resinous, gammony. Another couple of minutes in the glass reveal rosehip syrup, lovely damp earthy notes, Chinese balloons, syrup, treacle tart, hints of black liquorice. Gamey, minty. Eventually, some woodsmoke, cigar box aromas and some citrus: Lemon zest, orangey fruit. Another few minutes of restraint and it's all apricots, wet flint, plums and dates. Finally, after perhaps 45 minutes, we arrive at a delicious orange, dark chocolate liqueur.

Taste
Pretty full, but very drinkable even at full strength. A wash of coaldust and bonfire woodsmoke, with some dried peat. Chocolate hints. Very lively, it fairly fizzes around the tastebuds. Some spice and mocha. Becomes warming mid-palate as the bonfire peat kicks in. Water tames the fiery roar and lifts the sweetness, while retaining a peaty kick.

Finish
Good length. Becomes drying, with a little chilli heat; as the phenols fade, a honeysuckle sweetness and some fruity notes emerge.

Comments
Another majestic PE. Any sherry cask of this age ( minimum 27 years old ) that has only dropped a few abv is likely to do something pretty special to the spirit inside. You have to like peat and sherry, obviously, but fans of the last PE1 won't be disappointed with this-from memory, I think it's very similar - possibly a little sweeter.


Tasting Notes by Speciality Drinks Ltd