Ledaig Island
Island Single Malt Whisky
42% abv
£15
$40(CAD)
$32(USD)
Pronounced 'led-chig', this is the peated expression of whisky from Tobermory distillery on the isle of Mull. In fact, it was the original name of the distillery when it was built in 1798 and has produced two different whiskies since its early days. This is the more heavily peated expression. The last whisky from this distillery to be had on the Malt Mission can be found HERE.
Tobermory comes from 'Tobar Moire', meaning "Mary's well". Ledaig means "safe haven".
The limited supplies of Ledaig from the 70s that have been bottled have really impressed amateur and professional whisky critics across the globe. This good reputation is being cashed in on (?) with reasonably new proprietary bottlings of unaged Ledaig, from sherry and bourbon casks. This expression is from bourbon and is shockingly cheap. In a blind tasting we held years ago in Edinburgh where the objective was to find the expensive bottle among the cheap ones, this whisky was thought by most to be the pricey one.
TASTING NOTES:
Not what I would call an appetizing nose, but pretty busy. Herring, brine, bad morning breath. Orange pekoe tea. Strawberry jam. Toast and butter. Fresh raw shellfish and Dark chocolate. Verging on butryic.
Buttery and sweet, green grapes, stamp glue. Soy and fish sauce and smoke, but mainly sweeter, saltier characteristics. Light but full of character. Thin finish of campino.
SUMMARY:
Light but flavourful. Quaffable and not overly offensive, in spite of some of my chosen adjectives, with maritime characters coming out the wazoo. Very impactful for such a young, cheap whisky, just not an impact that would be welcomed by all. If you like you whisky fishy, smoky and salty, this is for you. In a character to price ratio, this scores very highly.
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