Advent 2022 #19 - Ledaig 12 2008 Marsala Finish Ink 2020

I guess Tobermory now has something akin to the Ardbeg Committee which is joinable by anyone for free and with releases exclusive to those members. Ardbeg plays very fast and loose with that exclusivity, contrived as it is, but as far as I know these releases were only available at the distillery shop (online, anyway). Whatever that case is, I bought a bottle as I love Ledaig and the Marsala finish was very intriguing. Some time later I ordered some sample packs from the distillery and this was included in one, so I decided to keep the bottle sealed and let it turn up as a sample in an Advent calendar, and now it has.

Ledaig 12 2008 Marsala Finish Ink 2020, Island (Mull) Single Malt, 58.1% ABV

Minutia: Distilled on January 29, 2008 and matured for 12 years including a finish in Marsala casks numbered 912-914 before bottling on November 14, 2020. Reviewed blind, neat in an opaque glencairn.

Color: Tawny; 1.4.

Nose: Filthy. Sweetly smoky and funky.

Taste: Salty, smoked ham. Leather. Pepper.

Finish: Mostly smoke, some ash.

Guess: Marsala Ledaig

I doubted myself a little bit thinking it could be the other Ledaig, but really it couldn’t have been anything else. This is both very good and right up my alley. It’s super dirty and does it super well, and that’s exactly what I like in a Ledaig. I actually ended up with two of these samples and had one the better part of a year ago at a poker game and absolutely loved it then, so the blind, critical experience being the same is no surprise. The only thing bad about this is that I only have one more Ledaig in the calendar.

Score: 90