I’ve loved Ledaig since the moment I tried it. After that point I was eager to get my hands on as much as I can. Finally one turned up in the calendar. How was it?
Minutia: Distilled on June 12, 2010 and matured for 8 years in a 1st fill bourbon barrel, cask #700389, until bottling in April 2019. Bottled for The 20th anniversary of The Whisky Exchange, resulting in 2019 bottles.
Color: Pale gold, 0.3.
Nose: Peat, green smoke, some medicinal/maritime astringency. Vegetal. Chalky (texture, not a smell of chalk). White wine fruit (reminiscent of a dryer Chardonnay), very subtle white chocolate later.
Taste: Maritime smoke, sharp. Pepper (black mostly, hints of cayenne).
Finish: Smoke, wood, dry must, salty. Beach late. Medium.
Guess: Laphroaig, maybe Kilchoman, Caol Ila or Lagavulin or Ardbeg could be. Leaning Bourbon cask, Lagavulin, maybe Elements of Islay.
As I was writing down my guess, I got a slight sense of funk that had me thinking “Maybe Ledaig?”, but nothing else brought me enough in that direction to formally include it. The ABV was a bit higher than I thought (probably low 50s) but makes sense with that astringent quality in the nose and a pretty strong heat on the palate. This was nice but not spectacular. A young peater, more akin to Islay for me than Ledaig. Despite me getting more notes than usual this felt simpler than others, but not in a bad way. The nose was a bit better than the rest, otherwise all elements were pretty much in line with each other enjoyment-wise. If that white chocolate hint developed into something more than a fleeting hint, the nose would have been quite remarkable.
Score: 81
Here are links to the other posts from this calendar:
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