Port Ellen 1979 Casks of Distinction 40 Year Old #6819

An official single cask Port Ellen with 575 bottles. This is an exceptional Islay whisky which has been matured in single hogshead #6819 for over 40 years, making this one of the oldest Port Ellen ever bottled.

Port Ellen is the lost jewel in the Islay crown, closed down by DCL (now Diageo) in 1983 due to an oversupply of peated whisky for blending and a perceived lack of interest in it as a single malt. It has developed a legendary status in the years since. A very rare 12 year old bottled for attendees of the visit of Queen Elizabeth II in 1980 is believed to have been the only distillery bottling produced in its years of operation. Diageo then bottled the first publicly available distillery bottlings as part of the Rare Malts Selection, followed by a series of annual special releases.

Each Cask of Distinction is chosen on the basis of their quality, representing the most exceptional and singular expression of the distillery’s character.

This particular bottling is the first official Port Ellen bottling to be signed by the new Port Ellen distillery manager Georgie Crawford, making this the first ever link between the old silent distillery and the new distillery.

Bottled on 11th December 2019.