Ledaig 10 Year

The Bottle: Similar to my review of its sister, Tobermory, this is a very classy bottle to have on your shelf. There's some nice relief in the glass that refers to the Isle of Mull and the distillery's founding in 1798 and the label is straight-forward and unpretentious. Like the Tobermory, it makes reference to being un-chill filtered, but it doesn't say anything about natural color. In the Glass: Honey & bronze. This one's hard to read from a natural color perspective. I'm going to presume that there isn't any E150 caramel color in the mix, but it'd be nice if they would just say that. I should also call out that it’s now a bit darker than the last time that I had it. The image on distiller is very lemon-yellow, which is what it used to look like. No longer. On the Nose: Coastal peat and a hint of underlying coal smoke. This is definitely a salty islander, and you could easily be forgiven for thinking that it's from Islay. Just behind the chimneysweep, there's an interesting mix of marine notes and what I would think figs would smell like if you removed all trace of sweetness. A little bit Laphroaig, a little bit Talisker. What’s really interesting is that this doesn’t just ready like “peated” Tobermory. Blindfolded, I wouldn’t be able to tell you that this has anything to do with the unpeated offering from the same distillery. This is its own thing. Taste: This is where the sweetness comes in, barley sugar and dried fruit. Then the marine note comes back in with a smoky/saline/fisherman kind of thing (it sounds ridiculous, but you probably know what I mean). The development is mostly sweetness and the finish turns bitter and slightly astringent. There’s no mention of it, but maybe this has seen the inside of a sherry cask? It would explain the color… You will want to add a few drops of water to this one seeing as its $46% abv., it helps tame down the finish. Where this differentiates itself from its Ileach brethren is in the finish. There's something more savory going on that you don't necessarily find in many of the Islay malts of the same caliber. It's interesting, unique and pleasing to the palate. I quite like this. I’m a sucker for interesting and peated malts, and this doesn’t fail to deliver. If you’re looking to branch out beyond Islay, give this a go. It’s a touch more expensive that some of the more well known and similarly aged malts, but I like to think that more of the money is making it back to the distillery so that they can afford to take some creative risks in the future (this could be complete codswallop, but hey…). Update: Tobermory has confirmed that it is natural color.

Great smokiness to the flavour of floral notes. Smooth. Increased rating after more drams

Excellent heavy peat

too smokey

It’s a cold and rainy day in Texas. Time for PEAT! Found this at the back of the shelf when cleaning out the cabinet this morning. I just tried the Tobermory 10, which is Ledaig’s unpeated brother. All those flavors are still there, creamy vanilla malt, sour citrus, and salt. Add to that now a sweet, meaty smoke (reminds me of ribs...) and a hit of brine to enhance the salty note. On the palate it’s chewy and oily, and it almost heats up in your mouth as you drink it, almost like alcoholic pop rocks. Just like with its brother, this dram has a lovely long, mouth tingling finish that lingers on the mid-palate with elements of sea spray, bacon, smoke, and a drying sensation. It’s like Ardbeg 10 without the punch to the stomach. So how does this pour stand up with other peated Islay/Island drams? It’s good. It has an age statement. It sells for about $50 in Texas, which is $10 less than Talisker 10 or Lagavulin 8, but $10 more than Ardbeg or Laphroaig 10. Its gentler than an Islay, bit lacks the punch I love in Talisker. It’s well made stuff, but doesn’t stand out in a crowded peaty field. For me, it’s a pass on a bottle but it was lovely to visit while I did. Plenty to enjoy here, and I’d happily imbibe if offered a pour. I think it’s unpeated brother the Tobermory 10 stood out more in taste vs. VFM. Cheers!

Nose: Slight Floral, salt, sweet, some peat Palate: Spice, little peat, what else? Finish: hot, lingers Add this to the list of whiskies that I wanted to like more than I did.