The Originals lineup is a new IB range from TWB. They describe the range :
The Whisky Barrel presents ORIGINALS® to showcase particular characteristics of our specially selected single casks from the finest Scotch whiskey distilleries. For almost a decade our careful whiskey cask management programme has yielded Scotch whiskies maturing in the finest oak casks from bodegas in Jerez, Spain. The Whisky Barrel selects a small number of these whiskey casks to be bottled only when they are ready.
It’s a cold rainy & wintry day here in Israel (we don’t get many of those), and what’s better than a sherried peated dram from the increasingly popular Tobermory distillery – a part of their peated Ledaig rang. The whisky came from a Single first fill Oloroso sherry hogshead (bodega Fernando de Castilla) #TWB1006 bottled 2019 for The Whisky Barrel ORIGINALS series. 288 numbered bottles.
Let’s dram.
Ledaig 2008, TWB ‘Originals’ , 11 yo, 54.6% , #TWB1006 , £75
Nose : lovely Smoky sweet chocolate, bacon then fragrant wood, spices and charred wood soot and a hint of ash, some tar, smoked fish..
Palate : lots of sweet smoke, peppermint, cinnamon and chocolate, glazed bacon stripes, lovely sherry sweetness, bonfires, quite spicy and hot with chili flakes.
Finish : cinnamon rolls engulfed in sweet smoke, brine and ash. Very long.
Conclusion : Very good stuff, exactly what I was expecting, the Ledaig character is enhanced by the sherry, and not dominated by it. Well done. Good pricing for a very good dram.
Score: 88/10
Available online on the TWB web site.