Ledaig 10 y.o.
46.3% abv
Score: 86/100
Peated malts are unquestionably the hallmark of Islay’s whisky trade. They are what make the island famous and Scotch itself infamous. But, of course, not all peated malts are from Islay. A lot of Scotland’s distilleries have been investing substantial efforts for years now into investigating the effects of peat on their respective spirits. The sad fact of the matter is that ultimately many of the mainland’s peated malts are less than stellar examples of the style.
Ledaig, however, is nae from the mainland. It’s a single malt from the Tobermory distillery on the Hebridean Isle of Mull, just a short Northerly hop from Islay. A fairly sound leap of logic might suggest the peat make-up between the two islands would be quite similar. But would that give the whiskies a common ground (pun intended)? We’ll get there in a minute.
Tobermory the distillery was founded in Tobermory the village in 1798. At the time it was producing under the name of Ledaig, and only adopted the village name for its own appellation circa 1978 with another change of ownership and after some seriously long and silent years. Today the distillery is healthy and flowing, steadily producing its namesake malt (Tobermory, that is) for a good portion of the year and a moderately peated version called Ledaig (“Le-cheg”, for those more phonetically inclined) for the remainder. The Malt Madness website refers back to the Malt Whisky Yearbook putting this split at about 50-50 in terms of production time. A hefty portion of each distillate, however, is relegated to the murk of blending waters.
Ledaig 10 is a bit of an oddball. In many ways it is close to an Islay malt, but maybe like one that has been maturing away in oil drums in a shopyard or something. Its personal appeal is probably rooted in a mix of affinity for a familiar style of peat and an appreciation for an utterly unique profile. Those looking for a more ‘smooth’ style of single malt may want to look elsewhere. This is, however, a hell of a variant on peated whisky and certainly one that belongs in the canon.
And just for shits and giggles, can I point out that there’s a wee hamlet on the Isle Of Mull – maybe 7 or 8 miles from the village of Tobermory – by the name of Calgary? That pastoral setting was actually the root source for the name of this bustling Canadian metropolis I now call home. Cool stuff.
Oh yeah…Ledaig, if you’re curious, is Gaelic for ‘safe haven’, and in this guy’s humble opinion a much better name than Tobermory (itself a reference to ‘Mary’s well’).
Nose: Smells young-ish. A fairly up front hit of diesel and hot rubber. Peat and smoke. Seashore saltiness and fresh pepper. Quite dry and ashy. A very charred meat backbone. Some grainy notes. A hint of wine and burnt lemon peel. Linseed oil and smoked tea. A farmy aroma that reminds of the coastal farmlands on Islay. This is an almost industrial smelling dram, and it actually rather appeals to me for that.
Palate: Arrives rather feistily (is that a word?). Billowy smoke. Fennel. Oily and salty. Rather sweeter than expected, with some apple notes. Like cut apple with a squeeze of lemon juice (as we’re wont to do to keep it from browning). Grassy and grainy too. Or maybe that’s more like a tea note. Assertive and unique.
Thoughts: Probably not for everyone (not even all the peat lovers), but it works for me. And it may just be the power of suggestion (both being Burn Stewart malts and all), but this does remind a bit of young peated Bunnahabhain.
– Reviewed by: Curt
– Photo: Curt
All Things Whisky 
You certainly like this non-Islay peated malt much more than the BenRiach Curiositas. I must try and find some. My favourite was the Longrow CV, very different and sadly not available here anymore.
Good review. I generally like this one a lot, but have found it more changeable in terms of the performance I’ve gotten from it, from bottle to bottle, and even from day to day, than just about anything else I’ve tried. Some days, almost a dead ringer for Ardbeg 10, and others more like some combination of Jura and Ardmore – a head scratcher in that respect, to the degree that I wonder about some leftover detergent in the glass. It’s certainly worth people trying for themselves, particularly peat lovers, but with moderate expectations. I hope it’s still considered a work in progress, because I think that the potential’s really there to take on the established peat giants.
So much for age statements….
That’s right, not knowing it how old it is would make it taste so much better. That must be the idea behind Glenlivet Founder’s Reserve. Buy a Ledaig 10, try it with the label on, then take the label off, try it again and report back.
This one has so many varied reviews that I can’t pull the trigger on a bottle. If it is like Jeff says, I could just pour some of my Ardbeg 10 or Ardmore TC, both of which are cheaper (I’lll pass on the Jura 10 as it is awful). Glad to see the review, though. Now for those Tomatin reviews you promised.
Yeah, I know. Hung up on a few others that got in the way. Tomatin coming. Promise.
Great review! I purchased this on Ralfy’s recommendation, and have not regretted it. Even bought a bottle as a gift for a fellow peat enthusiast. The bottles I have sampled were consistent across the timespan of a year or so, but they were purchased at the same store, a store that is notorious for buying in bulk, so they may be the same batch. At any rate, the bottles I had mirrored the notes of Jordan @ Chemistry of The Cocktail pretty closely.
I found the peat to be much closer to Islay than some others. In fact, I took a punt on it partially because Charlie MacLean stated in Whiskypedia that the heavily peated barley Tobermory uses is from PE Maltings. I do think that the spirit interacts differently with the wood than Islays, but I don’t know if that is a combination of still/spirit differences, location, or the 100% 1st fill bourbon barrels that Tobermory is reputed to use. It could be sickly sweet for some because of very active casks. I think my super sophisticated tasting notes were something like “a mix of slightly less peated Ardbeg and Laphroaig, covered in vanilla icing.”
Cheers,
Eric
See this is your “dram of the day”. I still can’t get interested, as it’s too close in price here to Laphroaig CS. Also, my HTH of regular Peat Monster (w/Ledaig) and Peat Monster 10th Anniversary (w/peated Clynelish instead) left me thinking it was a bit too “dirty” tasting to want to have a whole bottle. Actually, I’d love it if Glaser used the 10thAnn. formula as the standard PM.