Port Ellen Official Releases

[quady]

My two pennies worth is they'll be having to re move the stock (1979 stock at least) into some inactive casks quite soon, this year the oak was pretty noticeable.

My speculation on stock (side chat with diageo guy) is there is there is enough for PE12, PE13 and probably PE14 but don't expect a PE16 and hard to say on PE15. Pointless info though as by PE13 we'll know if the release numbers drop to 1,500 as they have for Brora - which the independents seem to have run out of near enough and diageo don't seem to have in abundance either.

[Douglas]

Nick Nairn, the Scottish chef, mentioned in an interview that he'd seen two casks over 90 years old (being planned for a 100yo release).

I wonder what else is being lined up for extreme aged, prestige releases using inactive casks (and clingfilm!)

Distilleries like Kinclaith just seemed to disappear from the marketplace. I think it will be different in future. I expect Diageo to move to infrequent releases of super-aged rarities for the likes of PE.

[gejpalmer]

How many bottles would you get out of 100 year old cask?

[portwood]

How many bottles would you get out of 100 year old cask?

The fewer, the better.

[ColSanders]

Well it sure as hell won't be 40%... so legally it won't be whisky... Just call it Woodsky?

And as far as inactive casks, as they've already hit 30+ years... why not take note from the Pappys and just put it into stainless or Glass...

[portwood]

http://www.whiskyfun.com/Pete-McPeat-an ... -439-1.jpg
http://www.whiskyfun.com/Pete-McPeat-an ... -439-2.jpg

[TheOutdrinkerest]

I remember my wife being aghast when I paid £90 for it. But a bit of history.

Woman + alcohol priced over $50 = misunderstanding. I guess they are just used to getting it free in the clubs/pubs. LOL.

[Exciseman]

PEAR1 - 1979-2001, 22yo, 56.2%, 6000 bottles
PEAR2 - 1978-2002, 24yo, 59.4%, 12000 bottles
PEAR3 - 1979-2003, 24yo, 57.3%, 9000 bottles
PEAR4 - 1978-2004, 25yo, 56.2%, 5100 bottles
PEAR5 - 1979-2005, 25yo, 57.4%, 5280 bottles
PEAR6 - 1978-2006, 27yo, 54.2%, 4560 bottles
PEAR7 - 1979-2007, 28yo, 53.8%, 5274 bottles
PEAR8 - 1978-2008, 29yo, 55%, 6618 bottles
PEAR9 - 1979-2009, 30yo, 57.7%, 5916 bottles
PEAR10 - 1978-2010, 31yo, 54.6%, 3000 bottles
PEAR11 - 1979-2011, 32yo, 53.9%, 2988 bottles
PEAR 12- 1979-2012, 32yo, 52.5% 2964 bottles

[preichert]

I hope the 10th release wasn't the last from 1978 considering that that is my birth year...

[M.R.J.]

It is somewhat amusing to come back to this chain of discussion in 2013.

The bottom has not dropped from collectable whisky, quite the opposite (some doomsday preachers suggested that already in 2008, and hopefully sold all their whiskies back then in order to maximize their profit margins ).

The releases have kept on coming, as the availability and price has gone up in big jumps. Independents no longer have many casks floating around, and the shop prices are climbing up, up up...even for the indybottlings, which many always say are not very collectable.

FYI, the amount of bottles made is not always extact information...Please see below picture, and the Port Ellen 6th release in particular - bottle number 4888. Nope, it isn't a fake, its the real McCoy, verified and all. Perhaps extra valuable, as it is a "ghost bottle"?

[Tim F]

Wow, that is pretty amazing. I don't doubt it's real, but how did you get it verified?

[M.R.J.]

Wow, that is pretty amazing. I don't doubt it's real, but how did you get it verified?

It came directly from Diageo to their Finnish importer, Hartwa-Trade, and was sold to a pub by them. No intermediaries apart from these companies in between, and Hartwa-Trade has verified it as stock they received from Diageo.

It isn't the only bottle numbered above 4560 that I have seen in Finland, and all of the others were sold in the national alcohol monopoly. I think that what has happened is that they estimated they'd get x-amount of bottles, but the casks used in the vattiing actually yielded more, so they kept bottling.

Finland was probably the last place in Europe where the 6th release was readily available, as bottles often find their way here slowly, and the market is still smallish. The 6th release appeared here only a few years after it came out, and Hartwa-Trade's last case of 6 bottles of the 6th release finishes in UISGE 2013 festival this February, so it is all gone now.

I think it hit the shops in december 2007, and in 2011 at least it was still selling in our monopoly "Alko" for the same price of 260 euros.

[M.R.J.]

We will see a lot less indy-Port Ellen's come out this year, I think. To my best knowledge, Signatory has just 2 casks still maturing in their warehouses, Berry has none, Cadenhead - no idea, but I doubt there's any. Douglas Laing & Co, now of course split into new companies, seems to have still some stock at least, for years to come. But the releases are no longer seen in every monthly stocklist as in the past.

Diageo has still been releasing only 1978 and 1979 vintages, which is interesting. I really wonder if any older or younger stocks exist in some warehouse somewhere out there.

When the P-E prices took a big jump upwards in some particular shops, I anticipated that this was prompted by a knowledge of current stock availability. We may well be on the path of seeing Port Ellen disappear slowly as a thing of the past now, even if the bottles out there will continue to be available in auctions for quite some time still.

[DavidUK]

We will see a lot less indy-Port Ellen's come out this year, I think. To my best knowledge, Signatory has just 2 casks still maturing in their warehouses, Berry has none, Cadenhead - no idea, but I doubt there's any. Douglas Laing & Co, now of course split into new companies, seems to have still some stock at least, for years to come. But the releases are no longer seen in every monthly stocklist as in the past.

Diageo has still been releasing only 1978 and 1979 vintages, which is interesting. I really wonder if any older or younger stocks exist in some warehouse somewhere out there.

When the P-E prices took a big jump upwards in some particular shops, I anticipated that this was prompted by a knowledge of current stock availability. We may well be on the path of seeing Port Ellen disappear slowly as a thing of the past now, even if the bottles out there will continue to be available in auctions for quite some time still.

Seeing as virtually all whisky from the 1983 closures has all gone, logic would suggest that Port Ellen is no different.

[Jolly Toper]

What's the going rate for a bottle of the 12th release? I believe the UK's supply was very limited.