Everyone loves an underdog, and I'm a big fan of Ledaig (pronounced "li-chig"). Produced by Tobermory Distillery on the Isle of Mull, it's a delicious heavily peated whisky that can give the Islay heavyweights a real run for their money. And it seems to work beautifully with a good sherry cask, with some very good sherry-matured and sherry-finished independent bottlings appearing in the last couple of years. My pick of which was the 10-year old cask strength from Signatory Vintage (reviewed here) which was very popular, and I believe there are now 11-year old versions which I'm sure will find their way down under shortly.
But the official bottlings tend to be a little low-profile in comparison, and they're often passed over in favour of more trendy brands & distilleries. The entry level 10-year old Ledaig (reviewed here) offers very good value for money, and sits comfortably in the same league as old favourites like Ardbeg 10, while beating stalwarts like Laphroaig 10 & Lagavulin 16 thanks to their low bottling strengths, especially if you also factor in pricing. Actually even without prices factored in it still gives them a thrashing from the enthusiast's perspective, thanks to the Ledaig being bottled at 46.3% without chill filtration or added colouring. Which are things that only a couple of the entry-level Islays can boast about, and only one of those (the Ardbeg) is at a similar price point. Ledaig (pronounced "Lid-chig") can be just as medicinal and peaty as most of the Ileachs, and more so than Talisker, but it's still very much the underdog compared to both its Hebridean neighbours to the south & north.
That low level of visibility probably isn't helped by the fact that there are only two Ledaig official bottlings that are reasonably easy to get: the 10-year old, and the 18-year old that I'm looking at today. Although the latter now seems to be getting more scarce. There are no non-age statement expressions to fill the gaps, and the price difference between the two is very substantial which certainly wouldn't help. The 10-year old can be found for around $80-90 AUD in Australia, while the 18 will set you back at least $200-220 AUD. The distillery looks to be pumping out a lot of new limited releases at the moment, both of un-peated Tobermory & Ledaig, and all with age statements (which is impressive), but none of those have officially landed in Australia as yet. I would assume that's partly because of the pending shortages since the distillery is currently not producing any spirit, and won't be for almost another two years while the site undergoes substantial refurbishment. Strangely though that does not include any steps to increase production capacity, with the visitor's centre being the main recipient of the renovations.
The Ledaig 18-year old that I'm looking at today has spent most of its life in ex-bourbon casks, before being finished in Oloroso sherry casks. There are no official figures on how long it spent in those sherry casks, but I would guess around 12 months. Like its younger stable-mate mentioned above it's bottled at 46.3%, without chill filtration or added colouring. Like at least 99% of Ledaig & Tobermory whisky it was matured on the Scottish mainland, since the distillery's warehouse was sold off and converted to apartments during a downturn in the 1980s, although it's still a noticeably coastal whisky despite that. The bottle that my sample came from, thanks to a generous fellow whisky nerd, was from Batch 2. Batch 3 seems to have been released in Europe, but hasn't surfaced here yet as far as I've seen. Tally ho!
Ledaig 18 Year Old, 46.3%. Isle of Mull, Scotland.
"Wonderfully" peated whisky from Tobermory Distillery. Matured in ex-bourbon casks, finished in Oloroso sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, natural colour. Sample from Batch 2.
Colour: Amber.
Nose: Soft, sweet and briny. Takes a while to open up, but it's worth the wait. Briny, with seaweed, sweet licorice, and lovely soft vegetal peat. Raspberry jube lollies (think red frogs), brine, sweet sultanas, and lemon juice around the edges. A little leather, and a slight hint of berry-flavoured bubblegum in the distance.
Texture: Nice. Medium weight, lightly oily and vegetal. Warming, but no harshness or spirit-y heat at all.
Taste: A little dryer and much more peaty than it was on the nose. Vegetal, earthy peat, more brine and seaweed, and chewy salted caramels. Sweet licorice straps, a little spicy wood smoke and a touch of musty oak.
Finish: Medium length. More peat again, but it's more spicy and earthy now, and it comes & goes in waves before tapering off. Becomes sweeter with more raisins and raspberry lollies, licorice straps and leather again, and light brine and smoke carry through.
Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Notes: Very nice stuff. Such a great balance of peaty, sweet and coastal notes. It does take a while to relax and open up, particularly on the nose, but once it does it's a lovely experience. Many of us peat-heads yearn for the perfect combination of peat and sherry influence, and only a few distilleries can actually pull that off without one of those things dominating the other. But this Ledaig does an excellent job of it, and it doesn't lose that musty, dirty Ledaig style that distillery fans adore. It is milder here than in younger expressions of course, but that's absolutely to be expected after 18 years of maturation, including a finishing in active sherry casks.
Great stuff, and well worth seeking out, although the local pricing is a bit of a push in my opinion. Particularly when those cask strength independent bottlings I mentioned above come in at a similar, if not lower, price level. Not at 18-years of age, though. So if you're looking for an island malt with a good balance of sherry & peat, this should definitely be towards the top of your list.
Cheers!
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