The jewel in the crown of the 2018 Whisky Live bottlings is Tomer Goren’s 37 year old Port Ellen. Tomer is the proprietor of the Whisky Live franchise in Israel, and to celebrate the show’s fourth return to Israel, Tomer bottled a refill sherry cask of a 1979 Port Ellen under his own private label.
Official Glass of Whisky Live Tel Aviv 2018
There will be 241 bottles available from this refill sherry hogshead, and they’ll be going on sale at Whisky Live at a price point that’s well under the market price for comparable bottles.
Goren’s Whisky Port Ellen 1979, 37 Year Old Refill Sherry Cask, Bottled for Whisky Live Tel Aviv 2018 (44.8% ABV, NCF, NC)
Appearance: Copper, very slow and thin legs running sluggishly off a sturdy necklace.
Nose: Dignified and warm, with dried fruit (dried peaches and apricots, with a hint of prune), cinnamon, clove, oak and rum cake. Light notes of peat, with time bringing out some notes of a floral bouquet, notes of green leaves and vanilla come in after some time in the glass.
Palate: The peat shows up first, with wood spices and some pepper. Ash follows, with a sweet wash across the tongue on its heels, with hints of those dried fruit.
Linger: Wet peat and a dryness on the tongue. The ash from the palate carries over, with a peppery ring around the gullet. After about two minutes, some bitterness joins the linger.
Conclusion
The sherry effect is a bit toned down, and would not qualify as a sherry bomb, but the overall effect it has on the whisky is very nice and refined. There’s something fresh about this whisky even through 37 years in the cask, and while the peat is all but lost on the nose, it’s very much there on the palate. All in all, this whisky deliveres quite a bit of value for its cost.
Official sample provided be Goren’s Whisky.
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