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KWM 2020 Whisky Calendar Day 4: Ledaig 10 Year Old

Posted on November 7, 2021

by Evan

Oh boy!

I am smiling from ear to ear because Day Four brings us a peated Scotch. Not just any peated Scotch though: today we will be tasting the Ledaig 10-Year-Old!

Ledaig is pronounced "Let-Chick", or "Led-Chegg" depending on who you ask. The whisky made under this name is a heavily peated style of Single Malt Scotch and it is created by Tobermory Distillery which resides on the Isle of Mull.

The distillery was founded in 1798 under the name Ledaig and has switched between that and the Tobermory name throughout its lifetime. The most recent name change happened in 1972 when it was revived as Ledaig. It then went back to being officially named Tobermory in 1979 and has stayed that since.

The distillery lays claim to a history of spotty production. Like many Scottish distilleries, it shifted from busy to closed depending on the local and global economy and general demand for whisky. It has twice been closed for a four-decade stretch - first between 1837 and 1878 and again just last century from 1930 to 1972.

Tobermory Distillery is owned by Burn Stewart/Distell International. This company was responsible for Tobermory's most recent closure of two years, which happened between April 2017 and June 2019. This closure was for renovations and refurbishment though, which included the replacement of two of its four stills. A new gin still was also installed during that time, though sadly the Tobermory Gin has not made its way to our neck of the woods just yet.

Distell International owns the blended Scotch Whisky known as  Black Bottle and two other distilleries besides Tobermory. The Deanston Distillery in the Highlands and my personal favourite Islay Distillery: Bunnahabhain.

Speaking of favourite distilleries: I have a deep and some would say confounding and disturbing amount of passion for all things Ledaig. I am not entirely sure why, but I have been enamoured with it for years. Ledaig is greasy, oily, funky and often weird. It can come off as rubber and brine and iodine and ballpoint pen ink all rolled into one, with any hint of redeeming malt or fruit character utterly murdered by these off-putting chemical notes. If you manage to embrace the weirdness of it all, you might find it lovable too.

All that said, I honestly have not spent much time with the official Ledaig 10-Year-Old. Most of the Ledaig I have tasted has been from single casks bottled by the likes of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society and other indie gems. From what I recall, the 10 Year Old has a more approachable style and is not as dirty and weird as some of the single casks I have tasted. How does this official 10 Year Old hold up? Let's dive in and give it a go!



Ledaig 10 Year Old - 46.3%

Evan's Tasting Note

Nose: A combination of brine and lemon-infused olive oil, flint, chalk dust, hay bails, chamomile, mint sprigs, green lifesavers and toasted marshmallows.

Palate: Salty, sweet and oily on the tongue with the warmth of crackling embers in a fire, a dash of black pepper, lemongrass, salty sunflower seeds, lemon candies, milk chocolate and Ovaltine.

Finish: Sweet, smoky and salty with floral and citrus notes that softly linger.

Comment: One of the great peated standard 10-year-olds and hard to beat for the price. It may not come to mind as quickly as the big 10s from Islay distilleries, but it should. The Ledaig 10 Year Old stands beside them in my opinion.

I don't know about you guys, but that bottle made me happy! Where will we go from here? We have had Rye, Grain, and Peat, and we are only four days in. See you tomorrow for door number five!

Cheers,
Evan
evan@kensingtonwinemarket.com
Twitter and Instagram: @sagelikefool

 

This entry was posted in Store, Whisky, Tastings, KWM Whisky Calendar 2020, Whisky Calendars

 

 

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