Cuvée presentation
A Port Ellen small batch (#152 and #153), distilled in 1975 and bottled in 1998 by Signatory Vintage for La Maison du Whisky. Andrew Symington, founder of Signatory Vintage, started his whisky business by selecting casks for the Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh. This marked the beginning of Andrew Symington's whisky adventure, which led him to subsequently launch Signatory Vintage in 1988. Symington invested in a small bottling line, which he housed in his Edinburgh cellars. He started by bottling at natural strength, with no chill filtration or colouring, methods that were still uncommon in the late 1980s. The iconic ‘Dumpy bottle’ series, for example, displayed details that bottlers had traditionally not divulged, such as the cask number, the type of cask, the number of bottles, etc. The bottle numbers were also inscribed by hand. Signatory Vintage has forged a reputation for selling not only the finest whiskies from the most legendary distilleries in the world, such as Springbank, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Bowmore, but also by bottling whiskies from extremely rare distilleries such as Ben Wyvis, Glen Flagler and Killyloch. Not to mention the many versions distilled in Lomond stills at Miltonduff (Mosstowie), Glen Keith (Craigduff, Glenisla) or Glenburgie (Glencraig). Finally, in 2002, Andrew Symington also acquired the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry in the Highlands. The distillery is now home to Signatory Vintage, whose cellars are directly opposite the distillery. Limited edition of 790 bottles.
The distillery Port Ellen
Scotland, Isle of Islay. Distillery operational. Owner: Diageo
Single-handedly kept afloat by the leading players in the independent bottlers market until the early 21st century, Port Ellen owes its salvation to the growing fervour of fans of peated whiskies. Like many distilleries a victim of the 1980s recession, Port Ellen closed in May 1983, never to distil again. It was in 1998, 15 years after its closure, that its owners bottled two limited versions, one celebrating the 25th anniversary of the eponymous maltings, and the other for the Rare Malts Selection. It would then not be until the turn of the millennium that Port Ellen would be awarded a finally crafted regular bottling, focusing on the years of production 1978 and 1979.Paradoxically, the youngest versions are the hardest to find, such as the Signatory Vintage Black Ceramic 10 Year Old and 13 Year Old. Although most were bottled at 40-43%, they still offer the chance to experience the spirit's profile without the wood having too much influence. In any case, the oldest vintage still available today from a handful of collectors is a Port Ellen distilled in 1967 or 1968 (the distillery was mothballed from 1929 to 1 April 1968), aged 12 years old and produced to mark the Queen's visit to the distillery on 9 August 1980.
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