Johnnie Walker Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Ellen Blended Scotch Whisky 700ml

For the second release in the Ghost and Rare series, Johnnie Walker turned to Islay. Blue Label Ghost and Rare Port Ellen, unveiled in 2018, was blended by Master Blender Dr Jim Beveridge around whisky from Port Ellen, the island distillery that closed in 1983 and became a legend in its absence. Bottled at 43.8% ABV in the 700ml format, it brings a maritime, smoky dimension to the series that the Highland-focused debut only hinted at.

Port Ellen stood on Islay's southern shore, its whisky shipped out across the water for more than a century before the stills went cold. In the decades since, its surviving casks have become some of the most coveted in all of Scotch whisky. Building a Blue Label around that stock was a statement of intent: the Ghost and Rare series exists to let drinkers taste distilleries that can never be revisited, blended with the balance and polish that define the house style. Its surviving stock has been rationed cask by cask ever since the closure.

Eight whiskies make up the blend. Alongside Port Ellen sit two further ghosts, the lost grain distilleries of Caledonian and Carsebridge, which lend layers of creamy, vanilla sweetness. Five rare malts complete the picture: Mortlach, Dailuaine, Cragganmore, Blair Athol and Oban. Together they deliver rolling waves of waxy citrus, rich malt and tropical fruit, wrapped around Port Ellen's peaty, saline intensity and carried through to a long, smoky finish.

The bottle arrives in the series' distinctive dark presentation with the featured distillery named on the label, a detail that has made these releases fixtures in serious whisky collections. Serve it neat, ideally with ten minutes in the glass to let the smoke unfold, and revisit it as it opens. For Islay devotees, this is a rare chance to experience Port Ellen woven into a blend of genuine depth rather than standing alone. Each pour now comes from a finite and shrinking inventory.

• Size: 700ml
• Proof: 87.6 (43.8% ABV)
• Age: No Age Statement (NAS)
• Origin: Scotland
• Distillery: Johnnie Walker blending house (Diageo) - drawn from multiple Scottish distilleries
• Style: Blended Scotch Whisky
• Series/Edition: Blue Label Ghost and Rare - Second Release (2018)
• Ghost Distilleries: Port Ellen, Caledonian, Carsebridge
• Tasting Notes: Waxy citrus, rich malt and tropical fruit over creamy vanilla, with peaty, saline Port Ellen smoke