Origin: Isle of Islay (Scotland)
Type: Single Malt Scotch Whisky
Strength: 50.5%ABV
Ageing casks: Ex-Bourbon refill
Chillfiltered: No
Added coloring: No
Owner: Elixir Distillers
Average price: € 170.00
Official website: www.portaskaig.com
Vote: 91/100
A limited edition of 9,000 bottles released at the end of 2023, completing the renewal of the line with a design overhaul and the three new bottlings, which include the present, an eight-year-old and the cask strength version without age declaration.
If the provenance of the other bottlings is (unofficially) known, the same cannot be said of this one, whose distillery is not declared even under torture! From Islay, of course, but more than that we cannot know.
But what do we, the drinkers, care anyway?
Tasting notes
How much minerality, how much sea, how much grill in this glass! If a whisky can call itself marine, this is it: brine, seaweed, oysters, smoked mussels, grilled peppers, all washed down with lemon juice and herbs (thyme, dill). The smoke provides an elegant and delicate background, a discreet but participative presence that unites the evocations. There is also a fruity, mouth-watering side, of pineapple and peach tartlets, emerging from the billows. Full-bodied.
Chilli and paprika tingle the lips along with a saline abundance once sipped, bringing back the marine and smoky impressions of the nose. Grapefruit squeezed over a rich fish barbecue, rubbed with herbs and a few balsamic impressions just for kicks, where the peat becomes vegetal and coastal with notes of oysters and saltiness. Sprays of incense and malt on the length.
A long finish in which the sea and smoke obviously dominate, woth the latter taking a little revenge by being more lit than in the mouth, without forgetting the aromatic herbs, citrus touches and the return of the pastry component, albeit tenuous.
Delicately muscular, an oxymoron that works thanks to a perfect alcohol content and a masterful embodiment of the whisky’s island character, a textbook but not didactic Islay trip, full and elegant. Excellent.