The Tobermory Distillery on the picturesque Isle of Mull isn't home to just unpeated whisky. It also makes superbly smoky single malt under the name of Ledaig (that name isn't simply a coincidence, by the way - Ledaig was one of the distillery's previous names!). Distilled using the same pot stills as the classic unpeated Tobermory expression, just with peated barley instead, the whisky boasts plumes of rich, earthy, almost medicinal smoke, with underlying fresh fruit and crushed spice notes. This particular expression ages for 10 years before bottled at the very specific strength of 46.3% ABV.
Quite light and well-balanced. There is a very soft peat with a gentle smoke. Notes of barley and malt extract, with walnut and pine oil and a hint of iodine, dried fruit and nuts.
Medium-bodied and quite rich. There are notes of spice and smoke gathering above the charred oak. The peat is quiet and dry with a touch of black pepper and earth.
Medium-length and slightly smoky with spice.
If you favor peated Islay whisky, as I do, give this try. I've worked my way through my first bottle and I will certainly purchase another.
Nice balance between salt/iodine, peat, and caramel.
Time was, you could buy Ledaig at a ludicrously inexpensive price from Morrisons - it cost less than some blends. It was a very pale whisky, young and full of itself, a brawler of a dram. This ten year old has a richer colour and is a tad smoother. A splash of water releases a whiff of smoke, but it is the finish which surprises and delights me - full and sweet. I like it.
I had tried, and liked, what I now realise must have been the 12 year old in a hotel bar - I didn't get a good look at the bottle. I bought a bottle of this hoping it was the one I had tried or, if it wasn't, I assumed it would at least be a decent substitute. How wrong is it possible to be! This is seriously nasty stuff - charred creosote timbers as described below is exactly what comes to mind. I'd tip it down the drain but I'd be concerned at getting the Environment Agency on my back.
Its suposed to taste of iodine! Try their Toby 10 if u don't like the hepi scrub whiskys or maybe Quinta Ruban for something different.
