Tasting notes Serge Valentin: 91/100 (WhiskyFun.com) 

In a certain way, it’s great to have a tempo di mierda these days, that gives us the occasion to try our most warming whiskies right in the middle of summer.

Colour: white wine. Nose: phew, this is extremely powerful! (nice notes of golden delicious apples and lemonade, though). So powerful that we’ll add a little water right away. Right, this is definitely not a very smoky and peaty Port Ellen. It’s more on almondy notes as well as more apples, apple skin, wet chalk, shoe polish, a distant sherry (more echoes of it), sultanas… The peat smoke is more here as seasoning so to speak. And always litres of lemonade… Quite different from most Port Ellens we’re used to but still great.

Mouth (neat): fab, really fab. Drinkable if you take very small sips, all on lemon, almonds, marzipan and all sorts of smoked ‘things’ plus notes of sultanas, probably from the sherry (certainly no first fill, that is). With water: same flavours, just toned down. Lemon, marzipan, sultanas, apples… The balance is perfect and the whisky tastes somewhat like if it had spent twenty years in glass (typical OBE on old Islayers). Surprising! Anyway, another very good, and very interesting PE by Carsten and gang. No wonder he’s a big PE collector. Very solid – and valid – cask selection.