Two very different Ledaig

So Ledaig (pronounced : Le-Chig), basically it’s the peated whisky made in the Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull (only distillery there). When I started drinking whisky I was quite into the young NAS Ledaig peat, but since then I’ve had only a few Ledaigs. A good opportunity to try some more, and this time two Indie bottling, one from Malts of Scotland (MOS), and one from Hunter Laing, in their Old Malt Cask range (OMC). Although they come from the same stills, they are very very different, I tell you this. We’ll start with the OMC.

Ledaig 20 yo 1993 (cask 9858) – OMC (Hunter Laing),50%,£89

Nose: Very gentle nose. No peat?. A bit flinty with a nice malty feeling to it. Wee vanilla and a faint semi sweet fruity note as well. Quite floral too.

Palate: Gentle and restrained. Malty and creamy with orchard fruit and some sugar and sweet syrup. A bit of spice. White Pepper.

Finish: Coconut. Malt. Fruit.

No peat, gentle stuff, really nice, but not what I was expecting from a Ledaig… Where’s the peat? ah, yes, it’s all in the next one.

Score: 86/100

Ledaig 1998/2011, MOS, sherry butt, cask ref #11010,  61.2%

Nose: Wow. That’s  strong stuff! It’s sweet yet earthy and peaty as hell. Used leather. Rum. Certain farmy qualities too. Nice stuff, Fiesty in your face sort of nose, peat lovers are going to dig this stuff. very much.

Palate: oyy! Peat galore. Earthy with burning embers.smoky wood. Bacon. With a nice sherry addition. Sage. Mint, rather nice and complex for such a youngster.

Finish: Long. Oh long. With lots of sweet jam infused with peat. Earth.

A cracking dram. In your face, ledaig. 180 degrees different than the first one.

Score: 89/100

Many thanks to Dave Alcock  for this lovely sample , and to Hunter Laing for the official OMC sample