Port Askaig Scotch Line Expands To Include 45 Year Old

UK-based Speciality Drinks is a spirits company that wears several hats. In addition to running the popular whisky retail website The Whisky Exchange they are also (among other things) an independent Scotch bottler. One of their labels is the Port Askaig, which has just added several new spirits to its brand.

The Port Askaig line consists of sourced Islay-style single malt Scotch whiskies of unknown provenance. Pork Askaig is not a distillery, but is instead a tiny port on Islay’s east coast, which consists of nothing but a small ferry terminal, a pub, a shop, and a single gas pump.

Following the 16 year old is the Port Askaig 100° proof, bottled at a rather healthy 57.1% ABV. It is a non-age statement Scotch said to have tasting notes reflecting “sweet fruit, peat smoke and a wonderful minimality,” and is priced at around $60.

Rounding out the crew are the most meaty of the new Port Askaig offerings, the 30 and 45 year old bottlings. The former was vatted from only three casks before being bottled at 45.8% ABV. Because of the longer aging, it is said that “much of the heavy smoke and medicinal notes” have been softened, resulting in the appearance of more subtle notes on the palate.

The 45 year old Port Asakaig, meanwhile, was bottled at a lower 40.8% ABV. Like the other whiskies in this lineup, Speciality Drinks does not disclose its distillery of origin. In fact, all we know is that it was distilled back in 1968 and “started out as five sherry butts, which had lost a lot of spirit to the angels over the years. These were reracked into just three of the casks, and then married for a year before bottling. ”

Of course, as the oldest of the lot, the 45 year old is also the highest in price: over $1,500 a bottle.