A 40 Year Old Port Ellen Whisky Is Latest High End Release From Douglas Laing

Independent Scotch whisky distiller Douglas Laing & Co. has on its hands a rather rare and high end Port Ellen Scotch single malt whisky that is four decades old. This single cask release comes at a time when the Port Ellen distillery is being revitalized by its parent company Diageo, who itself is also out to market with official high end Port Ellen bottlings.

The new Douglas Laing XOP The Black Series Port Ellen 40 Years Old, according to those behind it, is a 40 year old single cask whisky that is this bottler’s oldest ever Port Ellen release. It was distilled in December 1979 and matured in a refill butt before being bottled in January at a natural cask strength of 49.6% ABV, without coloring or chill-filtration.

“Port Ellen is definitely a firm favourite Distillery for the Douglas Laing family,” said Cara Laing, Director of Whisky, in a prepared statement. “It was my grandfather’s – our Founder – favourite Whisky and one my dad Fred and I have enjoyed together on many a special occasion over the years. The inimitably elegant, complex and leathery style of this particular dram embodies everything we treasure about Islay’s most celebrated Distillery.”

As it stands now just 299 bottles of this have been released in Europe and Asia, pricing at £3500 (around $4,475 USD). Limited official tasting notes suggest the Scotch “has a nose that bursts with peated barley and brown sugar. The palate reveals fudge, spices and chewed leather with a finish of iodine and smoke that lingers on and on.”