Port Ellen 18 Years Old Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask 50% 1981

Professional reviews

Serge Valentin (85)

These ones could be quite brutal, if I remember well. Colour: gold. Nose: it’s got an eggy edge at first sniff, quite some sulphur for sure, and certainly a lot of clay, chalk and gravel. Not the ‘average’ PE for sure. I also find some bread dough, a lot – and I mean a lot – of soot and saltpetre, and then notes of yoghurt and more struck matches. How should we call this? Uncommercial, perhaps? The whole feels very mineral. Graphite oil.
Mouth: excellent! This is really funny, the nose wasn’t my favourite ever, but this palate just works. Some sharp, tart lemon sweets, more mineral oils, smoked fish aplenty, then an unusual saltiness that reminds me of my youth, when I used to lick potash (long story, this is neither the time not the place). Very oily mouthfeel. Finish: very long, lemony, ashy, salty and sulphury. Comments: a dry beast from hell. Never found this much sulphur in a PE, but hey, it’s no ‘bad sulphur’ at all.