Cuvée presentation
A 27 year old single cask Port Ellen (hogshead #1523) distilled in 1982 and bottled in 2011 by Signatory Vintage. The founder of Signatory Vintage, Andrew Symington, began working in whisky by selecting casks for the Prestonfield House Hotel in Edinburgh. He subsequently founded Signatory Vintage in 1988, where he invested in a small bottling chain within his cellars in Edinburgh. He started bottling at cask strength without cold filtering or colouring, which was uncommon for the late 1980s. The legendary Dumpy Bottle series listed information that up until that point had never been shared by bottlers, such as the cask number and the type of cask. The number of bottles was also included, written by hand. Signatory Vintage carved a reputation for themselves by not only selling legendary whiskies from iconic distilleries like Springbank, Ardbeg, Laphroaig and Bowmore, but also by bottling whiskies from extremely rare distilleries like Ben Wyvis, Glen Flagler and Killyloch. Additionally, they also bottled numerous versions distilled in Lomond stills from Miltonduff (Mosstowie), Glen Keith (Craigduff, Glenisla) and Glenburgie (Glencraig). In 2002 Symington acquired the Edradour distillery in Pitlochry in the Highlands. He relocated Signatory Vintage and installed the cellars across from the distillery. A limited edition of 229 bottles for La Maison du Whisky.
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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