Cuvée presentation
A small batch Port Ellen distilled in 1979, aged in Sherry casks and bottled in 2013 by the independent bottling company Gordon & MacPhail. This company was founded in Elgin in 1895 by James Gordon and John Alexander Macphail. At the time, it was a delicatessen and wine merchant. In 1915 John Alexander MacPhail retired, and a new partner joined: John Urquhart. His son George joined the business in 1933, a few years after the death of James Gordon in a car accident. They worked with several major distilleries from Speyside, where they amassed considerable stocks. Gordon & MacPhail was also licensed to bottle whiskies for distilleries such as Glen Grant, Linkwood, Mortlach, Macallan and Glenlivet. The business flourished in the 1970s with distributors in several countries, as well as with the sales of casks to several Italian bottlers in selections that would become legendary. Today, Gordon & MacPhail is still run by the Urquhart family in its original building and is one of the most iconic bottlers in the industry with an abundance of whiskies – some of which are very old and extremely rare. Gordon & MacPhail is in total control of the entire maturation process. They have also owned the Benromach distillery since 1993. A limited edition of 654 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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