I still haven’t visited the Isle of Mull where the Tobermory distillery lies quietly producing malt for not one but two brands. The brand for the namesake of the distillery gives you traditional Island style whisky whereas the Ledaig is a much heavier phenolic concoction. When this blog fell as little silent Tobermory had closed its visitor centre with plans to reopen in 2 years and they are open for tours again now. Covid made it tricky but things are becoming more normal again for the single distillery of the island.
An interesting fact about the production schedule at Tobermory is that they produce peated and unpeated spirits for equal amounts of time each year. Where some distilleries have a very short peated (or unpeated) run against their usual product Tobermory is placing equal weight on each type. This is perhaps to satisfy owner Distill’s need for product in blends as well as single malt brand requirements.
Ledaig whisky though is one which I don’t have too many articles on and for a very simple reason. Man I hate it when people use that phase! Anyway, yes the reason is simple and straight forward. The reason is to me at least Ledaig whisky smells and tastes exactly like smelly socks and blue cheese. Now while I don’t want to come across as someone who is a connoisseur of smelly socks it is just the metaphor I keep returning to because well I ain’t returning to the bottle am i?
So as it becoming the pattern lets see what the official brand blurb is on this Ledaig 18 year Old. Will they own the smelly socks note?
Ledaig 18 is a wonderfully smoky island Single Malt Scotch 18 year whisky that balances sweet, floral aromas with the richness and warmth of sea salt and smoke.
Maybe 18 years has dissipated the cheese if not from this prose. So into the glass we dive.
My Thoughts
Colour – light orange
Nose – Citric zest, thick earthy herbaceous smoked fish
Palate – rich viscous notes of bitter chocolate, oranges, heavy earthy peat but light smoke if that makes sense. salted caramel
Finish – long enough finish so points there. strong sherry influence lasts all the way to the end
Ok, this will cost you 80-100 pounds but its a bottle I would recommend. There is a Ledaig I like but of course its not a cheap one. This is mostly because I need the whisky to lose its off notes (to me). I do reckon though if you are a big Springbank/Longrow then any Ledaig is a cost conscious replacement no downside.
Now my next move is to check out some other indi bottles to see if some cheaper versions exist to offer better value but this price point isn’t bad at all just now. If you can find any get it bought.
Malted 