Scotch

Port Ellen 1978 44 Year Old Gemini Original Cask

$56,250
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OVERALL
RATING

10

Port Ellen 44 Year Old Gemini Original Cask – Is This $56,000 Whisky Worth Drinking?

  • Phil Dwyer is a whisky enthusiast, YouTuber, and manager of The Whisky Shop Manchester, UK.

Tasting Notes:

About:
The Port Ellen Original Cask is the longest matured Port Ellen in European oak butts in the distilleries history of releases at 44 years old. Although the liquids haven been split across two releases, both from 1974, there are 284 sets available globally.This is the more typical of the two whiskies, although both were drawn from only three very impressive European oak casks between them. The remnant cask having its own, very unique story.
Appearance:
Golden Syrup
Nose:
Orange juice and fresh pine are the first two things to hit me, there is something savoury dwelling in the back, but I’m sure that will reveal itself in time. Smoked oak chips, sea salt, caramel shortbread, cherry wood, the smell of a bonfire from a distance away, as if walking towards it on a beach. The orange part is becoming so dominant, but there are some huge leather notes coming into the front now. Old leather things stashed away in a cabinet, but then comes in so much tropical fruit – mango, guava, papaya, and ripe banana. There’s even a seaside salt and vinegar smell to this thing! Tangy malt vinegar and coarse rock salt. The smoke brings everything back to pine, wet sea shells and some burnt oregano. I could honestly sit with that all night.
Palate:
Barrel spice is the lead flavour as it hits your tongue, but then we move into cooking spice and smoke! Turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, mixed herbs, bitter orange, almost Campari level bitter orange. The orange juice note is back! It’s sweet and wonderfully sweet in comparison to how it all started. Texturally, this thing is on another level of thick and oily. On the second sip we are getting more Kildalton style flavour. There’s a burnt rubber and sticking plaster note, swabs of iodine, and ever developing chilli spices, too. Dark chocolate, more sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil.
Finish:
Dark chocolate, burnt meat over a bonfire, pine needles, blood orange, rolling, deep smoke that is reminiscent of the best cigar you’ve ever had. The way this sits at the back of your throat is heavy, it’s the bass section of a band or orchestra. It dwells and pulses as other sparkly things happen over the top of it. Those sparkly things are more rich dark chocolate, Chinese five spice, smoked herbs, smoked wood, more orange – but this times it orange oil and burnt peels. It lingers after a good five minutes with a film of smoke that gently dries out all of your palate. I know we can all get carried away when it comes to old whiskies, especially old Islay whiskies, but this is rather spectacular.
Comments:
I’ve tried a lot of expensive whisky that wasn’t worth the price tag – this is still very expensive, but if you’re pockets are deep enough, and you’d like to experience one of the best Islay whiskies I’ve ever tasted, then this is for you! If I could afford to buy this and just drink it, I would. No questions asked.

What Makes The Port Ellen 44 Year Old Gemini Original Cask A Real Collectors Piece?

With only a limited, global release of 274 sets available – and with most of those sets only being available through Diageo’s Private Client Programme, this Port Ellen 44 Year Old Gemini Original Cask is genuinely going to be difficult to source, let alone see or touch. Another key point is that they are only available as a set – you can’t buy one bottle that would perform better at auction than the other, in theory.

You would have to take on these contrasting labels, flavors, and histories, all combined in that absolutely stunning presentation that overshadows most premium and limited edition releases from a lot of other brands across the globe.

Not only that, but Diageo has reopened Port Ellen and when they do choose to release liquid, it will be close, very close, especially after all the money they’ve spent on getting the stills as close as they could to the originals.

But, and it’s a big but, there will always be the folks who want to taste the contrasts in old and new, you’ll always have the idea of ‘original’ Port Ellen being thrown into the mix as we approach those first distillation dates of new Port Ellen. No other release has ever looked this good, and no other release has ever been this limited, they’re official bottles that always seek a higher price point across auction history, and you have two rather incredible stories of casks that have been genuinely looked after due to how special the contents are.

Also, if you decide to open them after purchase, you will come across the flavors of, at this point, the best old Islay whiskies that we’ve tasted to date.

Comparisons To Younger/Other Port Ellen Releases

Many of us have been privileged enough to try some Port Ellen at some point in our whisky journeys, hopefully! But these whiskies are just on a different level of flavor.

The previous yearly releases of Port Ellen within the Diageo Special Releases did offer good variety and style – a majority of them matured in rich sherry casks that gave an almost Asian-influenced, smoked meat flavor profile to them.

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This Port Ellen 44 Year Old Gemini Original Cask Release has a little bit of that going on, but there is more of a focus on tropical fruit, sea salt, gentle, flavourful spices of turmeric, cumin, smoked paprika, and some Chinese five-spice. Those latter notes are of a standard profile for Port Ellen, but if you’re looking for something that isn’t necessarily as heavy on the sherry – this is the set for you!

Also, those previous Port Ellen releases were still very old whiskies, the last few being thirty years or older whiskies. But this extra time in wood and the selection of these casks has really highlighted that sometimes, older can honestly be better. But also extremely special.

Whiskies Similar To The Port Ellen Gemini Releases?

This is a harder question to answer than I thought it would be – but we do have some answers. The main one is Brora.

On average, Brora was a cheaper official release purchase when compared to the Port Ellen releases of the past. But the flavor profile of these whiskies does get you close to some of those legendary bottles of Brora, specifically the 2017 Brora 34 Year Old which is still top-tier for a lot of people.

But also that Brora Rare Malts bottling that has been a whisky unicorn for many of us for a long time. Some older bottlings of cask-strength Bowmore will also get you into this flavor profile – cask-strength Bowmore in general is pretty delicious. But if you can source some bourbon cask matured Bowmore at a higher strength, then you’ll be in the right territory.

Phil Dwyer

Phil Dwyer's passion for whisky is undeniable. With a decade of experience in whisky retail and nearly as long running Whisky Wednesday on YouTube, Phil is dedicated to sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm with fellow whisky lovers. His goal is to make whisky accessible and enjoyable, dispelling the jargon and complexity that can sometimes surround the spirit. In addition to his online presence, Phil manages The Whisky Shop Manchester, where he curates an impressive selection of some of the finest drams available.

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