Port Ellen - Phoenix or Diva?
Is Port Ellen Distillery a phoenix rising from the ashes? Or is more akin to an over-primped prom diva? I think this call is too early to make and the jury is still out. What I can do is tell you a little bit about our experiences on Feis Ile day. Spoiler alert- I don’t think we will visit Port Ellen Distillery on their day again.
When we initially tried to get tickets, there was a bit of a kerfuffle with the Malts feis page not saying that tickets had been released. They had. So, every day after that, I would randomly revisit the page on the off chance that there were cancellations. I was in luck. Little by little a ticket here and there because available. I first got 2 tickets for their Port Ellen in Conversation: Past, Present, and Future. I ended up giving both to Bunny and the Doctor later as I also acquired a third ticket (at a different time for the same tasting) and an Operator’s Tour ticket opened up that S claimed. There was a huge difference in prices between the two options, as the Operator’s Tour was £25 while the Conversation was £100.
It was a dreary day, raining off and on, when we arrived in the afternoon and had a quick meal across from the distillery area, where there were picnic tables and food trucks. Then, we went into the distillery area, where you received 2 dram tokens each. ODDLY enough you could use these free dram tokens for current year Lagavulin and Caol Ila feis releases, which you would not have been able to get at those respective distilleries. We used up our tokens, taking our own minis, to get driver’s drams. You could not get a dram of Port Ellen included, but would need to pay UPWARDS of £225 for a dram. This irked me because in my experience, we got this dram included (and 2 others).
There was also no visitor’s shop or welcoming area. It was quite small and it seemed they didn’t expect anyone to stand around. When entering the main part of the building where we were told to wait, there was some pretty art and tasting notes decorating the room.
I actually think people were meant to buy both tasting experiences, as the people in the Conversation did NOT get the tour while the people in the TOUR did not get a tasting. There was also some confusion there, as at first S and his tour group was told “when you taste the new make…” and they never did. S also told me that the operators’ seemed confused like they didn’t know what was going on and that this was ad lib. He wasn’t impressed and made the analogy that the experience reminded him of “Date Night” when Tina Fey and Steve Carrell went to have dinner at Claw. “This is Claw. You’re welcome.” The interesting bit he did mention about the tour was that they had an experimental spirit still in addition to their spirit still. Both still were made to look like the original Port Ellen still based on archival information, but all parts could be changed out depending on what they wanted to experiment with. Moreover, to date, they had record production. This made me think that we were paying more for the name then the rarity.
Now back to the Conversation. During our experience, we were able to taste the New Make spirit, the 40 year old (9 Rogue Casks), and a 45 year old distilled in 1975, still in the cask. Tasting notes follow. I have actually tasted Port Ellen before and it’s never impressed me compared to the other drams that we’ve had. I tasted an older Port Ellen (can’t remember the exact age) and the Kilchoman inaugural 3 year old release beat it. So, I can’t say that Port Ellen is amazing. On top of this, Port Ellen historically was made for blending only. So, what makes this distillery now so important and well-regarded? Is it now worthy of being a single malt? Why is it so special?
Ewan, Amy (the master blender), and Joanna (the archivist) took us through the Conversation. The last time this distillery closed was 1983, and 2017 they announced its re birth. (This meant that their youngest barrels are 16 years old). Our conversation centred on the phoenix aspects of the distillery, how they recreated the stills based on archival information and wanted to achieve a fruity smokiness. Their experimental stills are 1/3 the size of the spirit stills. They have to start from scratch though. However, with their experimentation and different cask types, they have a ‘matrix of experimentation’ potentially leading to 400+ different types of whisky. They also play with fermentation, from 50-90 hours. They even have a lab on site where they plan to investigate the intersection of smoke and fruit. Their release Gemini is a reflection of this playfulness, with 2 different maturation journeys.
So while they have a foot in the past and draw historically and nostalgically from what Port Ellen represents in people’s minds, will the distillery be the same? Is it a rebirth of an icon? They said that the last cask filled in Port Ellen was the refill Hogshead and this was also the very first cask that was filled when the distillery reopened. Or, is Port Ellen an experimental powerhouse that merely plays on nostalgic memories?
The Conversation did draw quite a bit from John Ramsay, one of the owners of Port Ellen distillery (and he owned many more distilleries). Ramsay was the first to season casks; he was the first to take whisky to America (in 1865), and was the first to hand the distillery over to his wife. So, they do have a bit of innovation in Port Ellen’s history, with a bit of rebel without a cause notes.
As for now, I remain very confused (but still open-minded) about Port Ellen. Let’s see what they do in upcoming years. Did you visit them? What did you think of their ‘rebirth’?
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(distilled the prior day) 67% using 35ppm going in and now at 10-12ppm, so lightly peated. Notably, this was based on the prior style using production records of retired workers.
A fruity dram (pear drops and brambles) turned into salted butter croissants and apricot clafoutis, with cereal aspects (declined). The taste was livelier with more pronounced peat- charcoal or cigar ash. There was gorse fruit, lemon zest, lapsang souchong tea, pepper, moss, and clover. It was pleasantly oily but finish a bit soapy.
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(50.9% ABV) comes from 9 different casks, including casks 4913 and 4194 European butts.
This was a shape-shifting dram, with floral/peat notes from new make with other spices like toasted curry and cinnamon. But it had coconut and dried tropical fruits and sweet fruit leather (Haribo fruit candy). There was also more menthol peat and ginger. The finish was more vegetal with green bananas and mild jalapenos. Interesting dram.
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Cask Strength at 43%
Beyond the new make, there was tangerine, anise, star anise, and salt brine. There were red appples, with the peat on the lighter side, pink peppercorn, cinnamon and white flowers. It also had the same soapy finish as the new make. Though, there was also a bit of pine resin on the finish.