Ledaig 18 Year

Peaty but sweet. Twenty Eight

Review transfer from Barreled from October 2016. Right off the bat this scotch has a thumbs up. 46.3% ABV, natural color of copper gold and non chill filtered. The nose is initially very sweet and I am immediately reminded of the Bowmore 15 YO Darkest. Heavy Sherry influence even though it is only finished in sherry casks. Orange peel, raisins, figs, dates. I don't pick up too much on the peat smoke but it is there. Slightly spicy with salty notes. There is a tobacco note once it sits in the glass for a while. Not much oak which is surprising for an 18 YO. The palate was quite unexpected after the nosing. Powerful and spicy. The peat smoke shows up but it's not like an Islay peat. This is Highland peat, less medicinal and more herbal. The more you drink, the heavier the peat smoke becomes which is very nice indeed. Sherried fruits are abundant once you get past the spice and peat. The finish is medium-long to long and there is an anise/black licorice after taste, but it's very subdued. This is what I was hoping for when I bought the Bowmore 15 YO, which was a let down for me. This is a very different type of sherried/peated scotch. The palate is much more balanced than the nose which is very sweet. Given the price tag, I don't think I would buy a full bottle of this Ledaig. It is complex, but not as much as the Ardbeg Corryvreckan, one of my all time favorites. I don't want to take anything away from this one because it's very good. It just has a little too much Sherry and not enough peat for my preference. 4.25

I usually hold of buying stuff in the +100 euro price range, since there's so much good stuff to explore in the cheaper ranges, but the impression made by the 10 year old made me decide to try this 18 year old Ledaig anyway. I'm so glad I did! It's peatiness is slightly tempered by the extra years of maturation, and while the finishing in ex-sherry cask isn't as obvious as I had feared, it's quite noticable (but likeable). Combine this with some Meaty BBQ Smoke, a hint of dark Chocolate and some moderate Spices, this makes one hell of a dram. Top shelf material from the first sip! In a way, it strongly reminds me of the tasty traditional Volterean dish I had in Italy last year: wild boar with chocolate sauce. And that's definately a good thing :). Does anyone know the difference between this one, and the seconds batch, though?