The Tobermory Distillery has kicked off its Sinclair Series of bottlings with a brilliantly flavoursome Ledaig single malt, which has enjoyed a finishing period in Rioja wine casks! The series is named after the distillery's founder, John Sinclair, and this particular edition packs plenty of peaty notes alongside the ripe red fruit sweetness imparted by the Rioja casks. A sublime evening dram, this.
Red grapes, cinnamon, rose petal jelly, and a wave of coastal smoke.
Grassy peat, stewed plum, raspberry, almond, dark chocolate.
Salted caramel, cherry, clove.
One of a very few whiskies that I have reordered before finishing the first bottle. Absolutely delicious, loads of sweet smoke and beautiful pink colour from the rioja casks.
Smells of roses, tastes of Chorizo - how complex do you want to get! Long, long finish.
The nose exhibits the same unique Ledaig aromas of luscious red fruit and rubber tires that you get from the 18, but its harshness in the mouth is pronounced. This seems like it must be barely past the aging threshold to be called whisky. The cork immediately separated from the knob upon opening. This was also a problem about a third of the way through my last (brilliant) bottle of Tobermory 12. With such distinctive and outstanding products in their core ranges, it's a shame that these lapses in quality are getting through.
