Port Ellen 1982 27 Year Old

The reviewed sample is a Gordon & MacPhail bottling, and is compliments of @numen

Nose: beatifully balanced presentation of slightly citrusy malt flavours, medium grade on the sweet-sour continuum of peat and smoke, and some brine. Water makes the nose sweeter and fruitier

Taste: in the mouth the peat and smoke is both sharp and sweet at the same time, which gives dimension. The sourness is greater on the palate than in the nose and makes the palate less balanced than is the nose. Brine is also a little more noticeable on the palate than it is in the nose. Water added makes the whisky sweeter and then generally mutes the other flavours

Finish: the peat, smoke, and brine are very strong, increasing in strength, and long-lasting here, and the finish continues to veer toward the sour. Water makes the finish less sour

Balance: this one winds up being a pretty good peat and smoke trip, with very vivid flavours, but the balance and overall dimension are only adequate. It is hard, for example, to taste the barley flavours here. I always enjoy drinking these old Islay malts, and am very grateful to be given this sample, but many more recent and less expensive malts offer an equal or greater aesthetic experience. I am not a whisky romantic, so I am less interested in the history than in the smell and taste of what is in my nose and in my mouth