
May 31, 2016

The Ardbeg, I mean Ledaig works part two

Indeed we’re back with more peated Tobermory aka Ledaig. Yesterday we could check that late 1990s and 2000s distillate was much, and I mean much better than earlier vintages. Good, perhaps not better than the infernal early-to-mid 1970s, but they may be getting there. So, let’s go on, and try to ‘test’ various vintages to try to find when all that really improved.…

Ledaig 16 yo 1998/2015 (56.2%, Morrison & Mackay for HNSW Taiwan, hogshead, cask #700244, 258 bottles)

Morrison & Mackay are the owners of the well-known Carn Mor brand a few accents missing). Colour: straw. Nose: midway, perhaps. There are a few dirty-ish notes, not obligatorily a bad thing in this context, and quite some burnt sugar (what we call cassonade), or even crème brulée, and damp old fabric. Having said that there’s also a very pleasant coal smoke and quite some fresh mint. Rubbing a few leaves in your hands (ready for a mojito). Tends to become fresher. With water: more damp fabric, sand, smoky porridge… Mouth (neat): ah yes, now we’re talking! Some kind of meta-spirit, or a blend of mezcal, gentian eau-de-vie, and, well, Laphroaig. Works. With water: gets sweeter, with touches of pears, but the profile remains the same, which is good. Finish: very long, sharp, peaty and lemony. A hints of burnt wood in the aftertaste. Comments: already an excellent batch, this one’s not part of the ‘wacky ones’. Huge peat. SGP:357 - 85 points.

Back in time…

Ledaig 23 yo 1992/2016 (55%, Cadenhead, Authentic Collection, bourbon hogshead, 180 bottles)

The danger zone! But its true that they did quite well with the 1993 last year, so, let’s expect something at least singular. Colour: pale gold. Nose: yeah well, some plastic coming out, porridge, paraffin, ink, new tyres… Also some yogurty smells, wet concrete, tarmac… Let’s say the jury’s still out though, since there’s also a pleasant leafy/grassy side. Our dear fresh almonds and walnuts… With water: not too sure. Custard, porridge, maple syrup, and bicycle inner tubes. How does that sound? Mouth (neat): a little unlikely, but intriguing indeed. Fanta, limoncello, lemongrass, wax, green tomatoes (yep), grape pips… Definitely unusual, but not totally fermentary (which is a civilised word for feinty, as you may have found out). With water: rather better. There’s always this fight between a Fanta-ish sweetness and the smoky peatiness, but it’s interesting, despite the custardy side. Can you smoke vanilla cream? Finish: rather long, with a little pepper and more fabric/tar/rubber. Greens. Comments: I’ll go for the same score as that of the 1993. I wager they have selected the best, or the most interesting/intriguing they had, and am sure that quite a few sister casks are rather 70-75 points material. Wild guesses. SGP:465 - 80 points.

So, 1998 quite good, 1992/1993 more unlikely… Let’s try a 1997!

Ledaig 16 yo 1997/2014 (51.1%, Pure Spirit)

Ledaig 16 yo 1997/2014 (51.1%, Pure Spirit) A bottling for France by our friend Régis. Colour: straw. Nose: ah, this is interesting, there’s already this sooty and smoky ‘Islay’ profile, and no feinty notes whatsoever. Rather lemon, coal, seaweed, tarry ropes… All that. With water: yes, menthol, beach sand, seaweed, peat smoke, hessian… Mouth (neat): clean and well-chiselled, peaty, lemony, fresh, what some call ‘crystalline’… We’re almost on Islay. With water: Islay! Finish: Islay! Clean zesty finish, long and fresh. Grassier aftertaste. Comments: you could always consider that Ledaig lost its, well, its Ledaigness between 1993 and 1997, but frankly, it was for the better. SGP:367 - 86 points.

So far, the 2000s, or even the mid-2000s are getting the inside track, but let’s further test that… And be a little quicker.

Ledaig 2001/2013 (58.9%, Malts of Scotland, bourbon barrel, cask #MoS 13049, 214 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: yes. Bitter almonds, concrete, peat smoke, menthol, sea spray, lemon. With water: pure crystalline coastal peat. Perhaps one original marker of Ledaig, hints of damp fabric (old woollen jumper). Mouth (neat): immaculate lemony peat. Young Ardbeg ex-refill, there. With water: so good! Superb smoky and salty lemon. As one famous whisky writer would say, this is akin to a margarita but it’s infinitely better than all margaritas. So smart, so smart… Finish: quite long, pure, blady. Comments: much love. Quite stupidly, I missed this beauty when it came out two or three years ago. Note to self, be quicker with your Ledaigs next time! SGP:457 - 89 points.

Ledaig 10 yo 2004/2014 (53.2%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon hogshead, 179 bottles)

Tobermory Ledaig 10 yo 2004/2014 (53.2%, Liquid Treasures, bourbon hogshead, 179 bottles)

Colour: white wine. Nose: perhaps a little young this time. Some sweet varnish, jelly babies, smoked marshmallows… Now what’s in the background just works, with green tobacco, grass smoke, garden bonfire, mint and seaweed… With water: the background comes to the front, the front goes to the background. And yet, it’s not quite like an early Italian opera ;-). Mouth (neat): indeed, perhaps a little young and roughish, with touches of pineapples this time, but all the rest is very fine. Tastes like some smoked Tomatin, but not like Tomatin’s smoked Tomatin. Are you following me? With water: gets syrupy and lemony. The limoncello syndrome, nothing embarrassing. Finish: medium, really very lemony. Brine and smoke in the aftertaste. Comments: good. SGP:466 - 85 points.

And…

Ledaig 9 yo 2005/2014 (48.1%, Malt Barn, bourbon, 141 bottles)

Malt Barn (or is that Maltbarn?) are always doing a super job. Small bottlings, great whiskies. Colour: straw. Nose: there, this brine, these olives, this mineral smoke, these limes… And the coastal freshness, plus hints of ultra-fresh butter… All perfect. To think that Ledaig used to be ‘dirty’, this is totally ‘clean’! Mouth: back on the top shelf. Pure, zesty, wonderfully angular (as they say around Pouilly-sur-Loire), smoky, with bits of cracked pepper and perhaps a tiny bit of bacon… Nutshell, it’s young and fresh, plus it’s quite complex. This is what the peoples want. Finish: rather long, immaculate, with this minerality in the background, around soot and ashes. Wonderful. Comments: there's a question I got to ask you, isn’t Ledaig becoming the new Ardbeg? SGP:357 - 89 points.

Let’s double-check that with another 2005…

Ledaig 8 yo 2005/2014 (48.1%, Pure Spirit and Whisky & Co) Colour: straw. Nose: same whisky. I’m not saying it’s from the same cask, but styles and aromas aren’t dissimilar. I should have been a politician, says my dear mother, who’s usually pretty right – but not in this instance. Mouth: same whisky indeed. No differences whatsoever but mind you, even the strength are the same. Finish: same. Comments: same, I’m afraid. There's a question I got to ask you, isn’t Ledaig becoming the new Ardbeg? Oh and if this cask has been reduced, that was a very wise choice. SGP:357 – 89 points.

Insisting, because perhaps was it just a one-off…

Ledaig 8 yo 2005/2014 (51.3%, The Whisky Mercenary)

You know, since Diageo’s marvellous trick with their Lagavulin 8 yo, eight’s almost become the new twenty! Colour: white wine. Nose: it’s perhaps a little less ‘immediate’, and that may be because of the higher strength (yeah, only 3.2%, S.!) Other than that, styles, profiles, ideas, philosophies and goals in life are totally similar (S., there’s a lost episode of Inspektor Derrick on TV, you might want to go watch it.) With water: oh, we managed to reproduce the Malt Barn/Pure Spirit! A stroke of luck, perhaps. Mouth (neat): perfect. Lemon, peat, brine. I repeat, lemon, peat, brine. With water: same as the previous ones. Most probably not the same cask(s), but surely the same parcel. Finish: indeed. Comments: there's a question I got to ask you, isn’t Ledaig (slowly) becoming the new Ardbeg? SGP:357 – 89 points.

Okay, let’s drop those 2005s. There are many, and they probably represent the best bang-for-your-buck peaters these days. And since we were mentioning the early-to-mid-1970s, perhaps we should have one of those before we call this a tasting session. Game?

Ledaig 1975/1995 (56.5%, Blackadder, Limited Editions, cask #65, 180 bottles)

A bottling by the excellent Blackadder people, from before they found out about how to add oak scraps to their whiskies. I mean, into their whiskies. Wonderful bottle! Colour: pale gold. Nose: not that extravagant at first nosing, and that may be the strength. I remember it was the same with Sestante’s legendary 1973 ‘Wehrmacht label’. In truth there is a little plasticine or Play-doh, as well as quite a lot of ink (newspaper of the day, remember?) I’m also finding Comté cheese and Jimmy Connors’ socks after Flushing Meadows, but ‘in a subtle way’. No, really. Once all this wackiness has settled down, it’s a bed of cut grass, apple peel, fresh almonds, and cured ham. In fact, this is spectacularly complex. With water: bacon, game, horse saddle… and seaweed, coal smoke, lamp petroleum. Perhaps a little schizophrenic? Mouth (neat): unlike any other malt whiskies. Some hot artisan plum spirit (from a tiny ex-USSR republic), some sugary fruit liqueur, some strawberry jam, touches of rose-flavoured Turkish delights, all that on a smoky base that sits between used engine oil and supermarket ginger liqueur. Indeed, unlike any other malt whiskies, and totally not like the other 1972-1975 Ledaigs I could try. With water: ah, water did wonders! Spanish almond wine and barley water. Finish: long, unlikely, always a little ‘cheesy’, with some yogurt and many fermenting fruits, including plums (from that tiny republic). Comments: perhaps was this an example of the very first batches of ‘wackier Ledaig’? A lot of fun to be had wit this mildly peated Ledaig, but you have to keep an open mind. SGP:454 - 84 points.

I think we covered it all, pretty much. Amazing progress at Tobermory/Ledaig’s, for sure.

Check the index of all Ledaig I've tasted so far