Port Ellen 1981 / 42 Year Old / Gordon & MacPhail Private Collection Islay Whisky

Kofi Asante — Great whisky, absurd price

7/10

Look, this is a beautiful old Islay single malt. Neat, it opens up with iodine, smoked honey, and dark chocolate. The Gordon & MacPhail selection is well done and 42 years hasn't turned it into an oak bomb. But I can't rate it higher when the price tag is so detached from what's actually in the glass — there are £200 bottles that drink nearly as well.

Petra Novak — Great whisky, absurd price

7/10

Look, this is a beautiful old Islay single malt. Neat, it opens up with iodine, smoked honey, and dark chocolate. The Gordon & MacPhail selection is well done and 42 years hasn't turned it into an oak bomb. But I can't rate it higher when the price tag is so detached from what's actually in the glass — there are £200 bottles that drink nearly as well.

Omar Diallo — Great whisky, absurd price

7/10

Look, this is a beautiful old Islay single malt. Neat, it opens up with iodine, smoked honey, and dark chocolate. The Gordon & MacPhail selection is well done and 42 years hasn't turned it into an oak bomb. But I can't rate it higher when the price tag is so detached from what's actually in the glass — there are £200 bottles that drink nearly as well.

Idris Ibrahim — Liquid history from a ghost distillery

9/10

Tried this neat at a private tasting and I genuinely got emotional. The nose alone is worth sitting with for twenty minutes — brine, old rope, campfire ash, then suddenly ripe mango and vanilla. At 52.5% it carries its age incredibly well, no thin woody fade you sometimes get with whiskies this old. Port Ellen shut its doors before I was born and somehow Gordon & MacPhail kept this alive for 42 years. Remarkable stuff.

Rosa Paredes — Liquid history from a ghost distillery

9/10

Tried this neat at a private tasting and I genuinely got emotional. The nose alone is worth sitting with for twenty minutes — brine, old rope, campfire ash, then suddenly ripe mango and vanilla. At 52.5% it carries its age incredibly well, no thin woody fade you sometimes get with whiskies this old. Port Ellen shut its doors before I was born and somehow Gordon & MacPhail kept this alive for 42 years. Remarkable stuff.

Finn OBrien — Liquid history from a ghost distillery

9/10

Tried this neat at a private tasting and I genuinely got emotional. The nose alone is worth sitting with for twenty minutes — brine, old rope, campfire ash, then suddenly ripe mango and vanilla. At 52.5% it carries its age incredibly well, no thin woody fade you sometimes get with whiskies this old. Port Ellen shut its doors before I was born and somehow Gordon & MacPhail kept this alive for 42 years. Remarkable stuff.

Daisy Miller — Worth every penny if you can afford it

9/10

I was lucky enough to try this at a whisky festival last month and it absolutely floored me. 42 years in cask and bottled at 52.5% — still packing serious heat with layers of maritime peat, old leather, and this gorgeous waxy tropical fruit underneath. At nearly ten grand a bottle I'll never own one, but I'm glad I got to experience a piece of Islay history.

Luna Chavez — Worth every penny if you can afford it

9/10

I was lucky enough to try this at a whisky festival last month and it absolutely floored me. 42 years in cask and bottled at 52.5% — still packing serious heat with layers of maritime peat, old leather, and this gorgeous waxy tropical fruit underneath. At nearly ten grand a bottle I'll never own one, but I'm glad I got to experience a piece of Islay history.

Erik Strom — Worth every penny if you can afford it

9/10

I was lucky enough to try this at a whisky festival last month and it absolutely floored me. 42 years in cask and bottled at 52.5% — still packing serious heat with layers of maritime peat, old leather, and this gorgeous waxy tropical fruit underneath. At nearly ten grand a bottle I'll never own one, but I'm glad I got to experience a piece of Islay history.

Helena Kosta — Classic Port Ellen but not flawless

8/10

Had a dram of this at a friend's tasting night and it's unmistakably Port Ellen — that medicinal smoke with dried fruit and coastal salt. The cask strength really lets you explore it with a few drops of water. Honestly though, for £9750 I'd expect something that lingers even longer on the finish. Still a solid 8 from me.

Samir Patel — Classic Port Ellen but not flawless

8/10

Had a dram of this at a friend's tasting night and it's unmistakably Port Ellen — that medicinal smoke with dried fruit and coastal salt. The cask strength really lets you explore it with a few drops of water. Honestly though, for £9750 I'd expect something that lingers even longer on the finish. Still a solid 8 from me.

Ayako Hirano — Classic Port Ellen but not flawless

8/10

Had a dram of this at a friend's tasting night and it's unmistakably Port Ellen — that medicinal smoke with dried fruit and coastal salt. The cask strength really lets you explore it with a few drops of water. Honestly though, for £9750 I'd expect something that lingers even longer on the finish. Still a solid 8 from me.