whisky review 285 - Port Ellen 21yo (Laing's OMC)
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- čas přidán 21. 07. 2024
- . . . a decent version of a fashionable "Dead Distillery" Islay Malt which benefits from being not too long in cask, so the still signature is intact, and the peat influence is still fresh.
Thanks Ralfy. I suspect that you are right about a renaissance of scotch whisky, largely because of the influence of the Net, and the emergence of commentators such as youself, in educating us, and our palates in the art of intelligent tasting and drinking. I also hope that the industry is listening to your good advice and taking heed.
I have to agree that whisky festivals are a great place to learn, the one I've been to was with only independent bottlers. It was small but there was no way I've could've tried every bottle that was there. By asking them questions instead of just pointing at random bottles, they gave me some great recommendations and got me to taste some whisky with tastes I didn't even know existed. It was a great experience and would recommend everyone to visit one (especially beginners like me)!
Thank you Ralfy, I got about 20 miniature Scotch single malts in the last month. Mostly according to your reviews. Now after tasting and nosing them, I can feel the words of your reviews truly :) I think it's good to have more miniatures available. It makes experience less expensive and more fun.
Ralfy thank you for all the knowlage you have given me. I have had my eyes opened up to some realy good stuff thanks to you. Lou
Ralfy, thank you again for forging on the Malt trail. We follow willing and cant wait for what is next.
I've once heard that DCL had a choice of which distillery would get closed on Islay (out of the three they owned) and for their own reasons chose Port Ellen (saving Caol Ila and Lagavulin). But what if in an alternate universe they chose to close Lagavulin or Caol Ila? I would imagine seeing a lot of Port Ellen on the shelves while Lagavulin goes for big bucks at the auctions.
i love your sign off in this one ralfy. i truly believe the quality of my life is better because of your vids. big love man!
2:35 "we will never see port Ellen again" - 10 years later: opening of port Ellen ;-) strange times
Yes; and look at the price of anything with 'Port Ellen' on the label now 😯
Oh man. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to the Serge chat.
Wow 91/100! I would really LOVE to try this whisky!
Thanks for the potential warning! Normally I do my research before purchasing, but I'm not immune to an impulse by when curiosity gets the better of me! Here's hoping it's a good one. If not, lesson duly learned!
Hey Ralfy, where do you get those sweaters you wear? In particular I like the sandy colored one you were using back around the 140s, up to the Dalwhinnie review.
Ralfy, I was wondering if you have ever scored a prefect 100? And what was the most expensive single malt you had the pleasure to taste?
Hi there Ralfy , I know you never get the experience of tasting whisky history.but is there an available whisky to compare??
Great review Ralfy,,,I have been waiting for a Port Ellen Ralfy Vlog.I have been eyeing a bottle at my local whisky shop of a old & rare Port Ellen 31 yr.Distilled Dec 1979,bottled Jan 2011 at a whopping $1200 Can.Limited to just over 200 bottles.As you suggested,maybe it just to old to have that fresh vitalilty,,,your thoughts,,,maybe its been sitting by the fire wearing slippers and smoking a pipe for to long.
Hey ralfy! First of all thank you so much for your wonderful vlog, it is so well done and inspiring that my whisky interest is rapidly turning into a serious passion. Speaking of it... I'm recently thinking about buying a good bottle of Port Ellen or Brora for... well having them before its too late and why not, as an investment. Particularly, here there are OB of Port Ellen #10 and #11 for around 400-500€ but independent as low as 180-200€... what do you think? Thank you and cheers!
DCL (now Diageo) owned three Islay distilleries but apparently could only keep two (at the time Scotch whisky was going through tough times). So they kept Caol Ila and Lagavulin open and shut down Port Ellen. Incidentally DCL owned Stitzel-Weller when it was shut down which is why DCL and now Diageo isn't well liked among the whisk(e)y community (which hasn't stopped us from buying their products though).
Wow, for that price you could fly to Heathrow London, buy the same bottle at World of Whisky for 300 pounds! I think I saw this PE version of Old & Rare there not too long ago for this price; thought about buying it for the equivalent of $500. I suppose it doesn't quite add up, but maybe you could spend a day or two in London for the $700 CAD in savings on your 31yo PE!
Being that PE is so great, why should it have shut down? Is it like Stitzel-Weller where it was forced to close down due to asbestos issues?
Again, based on what you were saying I was predicting a lower mark, got me again.
Have you come across an Old Malt Cask, 26 Year Old, Port Ellen, Distilled in 1982 May, and bottled in 2008 October. How would you rate this one please ? Worth buying, collecting ? Thanks.
Ralfy, have you reviewed an Aran Malt yet, and if not do you plan to do so?
He Ralfy, are you interested in making a review about the 'new' Johnnie Walkers Platinum Label and/or Gold Reserve label? Or is not on your list for the upcoming months? Thanks!
I wonder if this bottle would rate higher if Ralfy rated it today against modern (more disappointing) malts. Any chance he archived this bottle with inert gas??
Ralfy, I recently picked up a Connoisseur's Choice bottling of Littlemill 12 y/o (Distilled 1991). It was awfully reasonable, so I couldn't resist...any thoughts on this one? I haven't tried it yet, and I was curious about your take on it (if you have one!). Anyway, I love the reviews--always entertaining and informative!
How about a series on Absinthe this Halloween?
Thumbs up for Glasgow Whisky Festival
Ralfy, what year was this PE distilled/bottled? I have a 25 year Laing PE (sherry cask), distilled in 1983. I've read that the '78 and '79 PE's tend to be more consistently good than the '80's versions. Thanks!
And here another very interesting video! I'm getting smarter every sunday evening, hahaha ! :)
I tried a 34 year old port Ellen OB and I didn't find it to be over Oaked. Which was very od because something this old should be. I did some research and apparently Port Ellen would cask the whisky very hot at around 78-80%abv instead of diluting down to industry standards of 63% not because they imagined that the whisky would be bottled 30 years later but because they didn't have enough money for casks. This makes me think what a young port Ellen would taste like.
. . . after 34 years, this would be because it was matured in a second or third fill cask with residual oak flavours to affect the spirit.
Just bought me a Macleod's Islay single malt. Absolute the least expensive single malt from Islay here in Norway and i didn't expect much of it. Nice but not great,a bit boring if you know good Islay whiskey. Only 8years in cask so it must have been a pretty clean spirit to begin with, which could mean chill filtering and/or high stills. Could be interesting to hear Ralfy's opinion on that one.
Ralfy, as you've noted I've found that some distilleries tend to let their quality drop as demand increases. In the last 3 years I've sampled 3 Ardbeg Uigeadail bottlings that were bottled 1 year apart. Tasting blind they were shockingly similar! Maybe Ardbeg's demise in good quality is imminent? Also noticed Rachel Barrie has gone to Bowmore. Have you found any distilleries that have managed to reach massive levels of demand and still maintain a very decent level of quality?
What about "malty mouse traps"?
I wish you could be my undertaker, you would give my funeral such flair. I just wish in fantasy that you would give me your perfect whisky sendoff.
Granted I later read that Lagavulin and Caol Ila are major components of Johnnie Walker so Port Ellen was the logical choice to close but it's fun to imagine an alternate universe where Port Ellen is plentiful and none of the other closed distilleries were ever closed.
hahaha Malty Meganerds had me laugh a lot
little question
say you have a friend visit you
said friend has not seen you in a long time
I'm talking 15 years or more
he comes over and to celebrate the reunion
what kind of bottle would be worth the occasion?
The best Islay is in my opinion Lagavulin 16. Soooo yummy. :P
Hmm, now i need a whisky.:-)
The reason Port Ellen was closed is because it wasn't that good. You leave it in the barrel long enough and it gets a lot better. Spot on Ralfy! Whisky snobs will never admit that.
My opinion is that whisky snobs were fond on PE before it got so greedily seeked after, and started despising it afterwards. Being snob consists in refusing to admit having the same taste as others at the same time. This would be so vulgar! Being snob usualy means burning what you once cherished.
Gotta get your whisky before the show starts.
Crisp Pete, you are classic.
... Peaty goings on ... "right? okay" haha.
Also... malty maritimers!
Ralfy, I'm getting a message that reads this video is currently unavailable. This message keeps coming up with a number of your videos. Do you know why this is happening?
We can all assist your efforts by voting with our wallets.
New hat, how about that,
I disliked ye coz of the bunnet...shockin'
Ive never had a bad whisky....never I'm the kind of person that finds goodness is everything...but Port Ellen is some pretty mediocre whisky.....there are many 10 year old whiskys id prefer over this