The Single Cask Ledaig Tasting Notes

The Single Cask Ledaig 1993 (29 year old) 44%

Bourbon Barrel 249/ Dist: Mar 1993 Btl: 2022

Tasted: Apr 2023

Aromas of mature, sawdusty oak and hints of malt, distant peat, astringent green fruit, bark, moss and macerated mature fruit. The oak is quite heavy but it doesn’t overpower the nose. Late subtle peat smoke.

The palate is full and malty with subtly sweet and juicy apricot, sultana and some salt, which isn’t really noticeable on the nose, which is probably down to the fact that the oak is a little more balanced on the palate. Quite bracing with sawdusty oak, green fruit, mushrooms, earth, dark chocolate and citrus. Long, slightly funky finish with mature marzipan, grilled nuts, smoked fish, old wood and astringent seaweed. A very entertaining Old Ledaig!

Brave New Spirits Ledaig Tasting Notes

The Rebels ‘Guerilla Casks’ Tobermory (Ledaig) 2009 (12 year old) 51.5%

First Fill Madeira Cask 700102/ Dist: Mar 2009 Btl: Mar 2021

Tasted: Jun 2022

The nose is intense and quite high toned to begin with. Quite herbal but the meaty notes begin to emerge along with smoke, dried grape, honey, vanilla and pepper. There is a late struck match note, but it doesn’t detract.

The palate opens with a boat load of sweet, winey dried fruit and just hints of smoked meat, peat, salt and bog myrtle. It does settle down to show a better balance with some developing bitter spice and tannin. Good smoky finish with lingering Madeira fruit.

Water makes the nose a touch fresher and saltier. Slightly astringent, citric with less peat and sulphur. The palate is still sweet and wine, less meaty and peaty and showing more classic biscuit Madeira. Good length with a subtly smoky finish.

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Ledaig Tasting Notes

That Boutique-y Whisky Company Ledaig Batch #2 50.5%

Bourbon/ Btl: 2015

Tasted: July 2015

The nose is slightly cardboard to begin with but there some solid, sweet barley to give a semblance of balance. Very fishy with earthy peat, sugar coated violets, bacon fat, bbq meat and salt.

The palate is initially very sugary followed by the slightly cardboardy peat and hard barley. Very briny on the middle which clears the sugars from the palate to leave the oily, fishy notes in the ascendancy. Long and sweetly peated with lingering cardboardy notes. Sweet violet and duty peat after-taste. In conclusion: That distillery character here is unmistakable! However there is just enough other elements to balance and make it fairly enjoyable by their standards! (Oooh sharp intake of breath!)

Lady of the Glen Ledaig Tasting Notes

Lady of the Glen ‘Rare Cask’ Tobermory (Ledaig) 2011 (10 year old) 56.5%

Refill Ex-tawny Port Finish 7006/ Dist: Nov 2011 Btl: Jan 2022

Tasted: Feb 2022

A pungent, but clean nose (modern Ledaig!). Meaty, earthy and pretty heavily peated. Salt, malt, coffee, bog myrtle, iodine and the finishing cask adding some slightly aromatic tawny dried fruit. I have to say, this is a very good nose!

The palate is sooty, malty and meaty with bog myrtle, iodine, astringent herbal peat, pepper, earth and subtle tawny fruit. Like the nose the palate is very clean. Intense, earthy, tawny fruit finish which is a little masked but really juicy.

Water brings out a little spirit sulphur, well it is Ledaig afterall, but it doesn’t detract from the meaty peatiness. The palate is softer, less intense but showing more coffee’d dried fruit. Still meaty with subtler peat. Long, herbal peat and iodine finish. Overall I’m rather impressed!

Hunter Laing Ledaig Tasting Notes

Hunter Laing Old Malt Cask Ledaig 1993 (20 year old) 50%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead/ Code: OMC2289/ HL9858

Dist: Mar 1993 Btl: Jun 2013/ Tasted: Aug 2013

A classic Ledaig nose of damp cardboard and malt. Yes, it’s the usual murkiness with stewed fruit, old oak notes, toffee and burnt caramel. With time a light floral and citrus note attempts to break through. It certainly doesn’t seem like it’s 20 years old!

The palate has plenty of malty, stewed fruit and wet cardboard. Quite earthy with hints of earth and toffee. The stewed fruit is definitely the dominant theme here. Medium length with a touch of salt, fish and drying wood tannins.

Claxton’s Ledaig Tasting Notes

Claxton’s The Single Cask Ledaig 2008 (8 year old) 52.8%

Refill Sherry Butt 1606-700713/ Dist: May 2008 Btl: 2016

Tasted: Sept 2016

The nose is clean, softly peated, but very briny and phenolic. Hints of smoked meat, malt and tar. This must have been a very refilled sherry butt as the sherry character is virtually imperceptible bar a touch of oxidised fruit. With time it becomes lightly medicinal.

The palate is soft and full, opening with creamy barley followed by earthy-peat, coffee and subtle spices. Again not much in the way of sherry character but the middle is pleasantly coastal and fishy. Long and crisp with the salt, peat and sweet barley lingering.

Claxton’s ‘The Single Cask’ Ledaig 2007 (9 year old) 53.3%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead 1720-700814

Dist: Jun 2007 Btl: 2017/ Tasted: Apr 2017

Aromas of sweet barley, white fruit and peat dust, followed by gritty and phenolic slabs of peat and brine. Fresh and very old skool Caol Ila-like with the peat becoming slightly manure.

The palate opens in the same manner as the nose with sweet barley and dusty peat. It’s a little fuller feeling with some milky oak noticeable along with a touch of honey. Very clean with a touch of heather, earthy peat and tar. Wonderfully vibrant middle with a long, white fruit and sweet barley finish accented by the peat dust.

Claxton’s The Single Cask Ledaig 2008 (10 year old) 54.3%

Refill Bourbon Hogshead 1851-700075/ Dist: Feb 2008 Btl: 2018

Tasted: Nov 2018

A very meaty and smoky nose with crisp citrus and salt, along with both earthy and medicinal peat. Pleasantly dense and malty with a touch of vanilla oak.

The palate is briny and smoky with roasted meat, fish oils and sweet barley. The inherent oiliness is balanced by the salt and citrus and the middle becomes quite savoury and malty. Long and smoky with oodles of salt, sweet orange, tart lemon, sweet peat smoke, violets and pepper. Lovely stuff!

Vintage malt Whisky Company Ledaig Tasting Notes

Vintage Malt Whisky Co ‘Coopers Choice’ Ledaig 1998 (17 year old) 56.5%

Sherry Butt 35/ Dist: 19988 Btl: 2015/ Tasted: May 2016

A leafy, herbal and slightly medicinal nose with hints of peat and sulphur. Slightly rubbery with building herbal peat, fisherman’s friends and yet more rubber.

The palate opens with the sulphur tainted Oloroso. Slightly medicinal, peaty/ sooty and rubbery, but nowhere near as interesting and complex as the nose. In fact the sulphur taint is a lot more conspicuous and lingers throughout.

Carn Mor Ledaig Tasting Notes

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Ledaig 1997 (17 year old) 49.7%

Bourbon Cask 643080/ Dist: Oct 1997 Btl: Nov 2014/ Tasted: Mar 2015

The nose opens with a little murky ‘distillery character’ and plenty of peat. Hints of manure, tar and faint parma violets follow along with a touch of heather. Underneath lies some barley’d fruit, which gives depth.

The palate is reasonably clean, although there is touch of industrial ‘distillery character’. Hints of coffee, peat and tar come through with a pleasant saltiness. Lovely intense finish. Quite mouth-watering with lingering dry peat. Another pleasant bottle of Ledaig, which shows plenty of substance to balance the ‘distillery character’.

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Lediag 1997 (18 year old) 55.6%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 1997 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Apr 2016

Quite feinty and slightly metallic to begin with hard barley and sweet vanilla. The manurey peat duly arrives and continues to develop and dominate the nose. With time hints of coffee and subtle coastal notes appear.

The palate opens with the dry, dusty peat and a touch of cardboard. Again quite earthy, manurey and rubbery with hints of sweet barley and lightly medicinal, herbal peat. Lovely juicy middle but there is a slight feintness in the background. Long and lightly coffee’d and manurey finish with a drying coastal after-taste.

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Ledaig 1997 (19 year old) 52.9%

Bourbon Hogshead/ Dist: 1997 Btl: Feb 2017/ Tasted: Jan 2017

Stinky and sulphury on the nose with hints of coastal white fruit and manurey peat. Light sugar coated baked barley beneath with developing smoked meat and peat smoke. Given time the nose does settle down but it’s still a little dirty.

The palate is edgy and slightly sulphurous with white fruit. A touch of honey and slightly sweet barley attempt to balance but the manurey, dirty peat comes through on the middle with some salt and bitter spice. Short, intense with a strange dirty sweet/citric finish and a bitter, tar and treacle after-taste. By old Ledaig standards it’s not too bad but it’s still a bit rough and ready!

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Ledaig 1997 (19 year old) 50.2%

Bourbon Hogshead 643083/ Dist: Oct 1997 Btl: Sept 2017/ Tasted: Dec 2017

Briny, sooty and faintly medicinal nose with herbal coffee and earth. Pretty clean with only a suggestion of funkiness, which in all honesty is hidden by the peat. Late notes of lemon, salt and granulated sugar.

The palate is quite oily and a little flat, with hints of wet cardboard, although the sweet barley and oak counters. Hints of sooty peat, iodine and medicinal herbs follow. Intense and salty middle with a touch of lemon. Long and salty with a slightly drying, coffee’d spice finish.

Carn Mor Celebration of the Cask Ledaig 1998 (20 year old) 54.7%

Bourbon Hogshead 700245/ Dist: Apr 1998 Btl: Aug 2018/ Tasted: Aug 2018

The nose is quite meaty and ashy with phenolic, herbal peat, pepper and tar. I’m surprised at how peaty it is for its age. Hints of fragrant barley appear along with late hints of tar, rubber, gritty coffee and more pepper.

The palate is wonderfully sooty and ashy with peat, tar, pepper and vanilla. Soft but gritty on the middle with distinct coffee grain notes mingling with peat dust/ ash. Pleasantly citric on the middle which adds vibrancy and a long, barley and dusty peat finish with a touch of smoked meat, herbal peat, salt, rubber and dark chocolate. In conclusion: That’s a fabulously impressive old Ledaig!

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Carn Mor Strictly Limited Ledaig 2008 (7 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry Puncheon/ Dist: 2008 Btl: 2015/ Tasted: Aug 2015

Given its distinct lack of colour this was aged in a very well used sherry puncheon! The nose is slightly feinty but the there is plenty of sweet barley to offset that. Lightly fishy with hints of coal/ peat dust and with time a slight, herbal, almost grain-like note appears.

The palate opens with the sweet barley, malt biscuits and lightly oiled, earthy peat. Pretty clean and lacking the usual ‘Ledaig’ character with a touch of chocolate and a subtle dried fruit note. Long and still quite sweet with a peppery and salty, coffee’d finish.

Carn Mor Strictly Limited Ledaig 2008 (8 year old) 46%

Refill Sherry Butt/ Dist: 2008 Btl: 2016/ Tasted: Sept 2016

Meaty and smoky aromas with dusty but sweet peat, salt and a very subtle, (almost to the point of imperceptibility) sherry sweetness. It is a little raw with late botanical notes.

The palate is a little un-evolved with some ‘off the still’ oiliness and hints of peat, pepper and herbs. Still the spirit is very clean with a touch of barley and subtle salt and spice notes. Long with a pleasant dusty peat finish with an almost pulped agave fruit finish. Maybe it could have done with another couple of years in the cask.

Highland Laird Ledaig Tasting Notes

Highland Laird Ledaig 2005 (8 year old) 53.7%

Bartles Rawlings International

Bourbon Hogshead

Dist: 2005 Btl: 2014/ Tasted: Nov 2014

Fresh, briny and fishy. The peat has an earthy, manurey Islay-like character. Amazingly clean (i.e. lacking the usual wet cardboard notes). Bracing and citric with even a touch of pineapple. Good god when did Ledaig have fruit? Late notes of bog myrtle and woody spice.

Soft and lightly barley’d on the palate. Showing a little more oak which takes the edge of the brininess, but not overtly so. Not as exuberantly peated as the nose but there’s still enough! Very long and fresh with hints of herbs, parma violets and sweet, dusty peat. Again blemish free with a lightly oily and tarry finish. Is the distillery taking more care with its cut points? I guess time will tell.

Douglas of Drumlanrig Ledaig Tasting Notes

Douglas of Drumlanrig Ledaig 1993 (20 year old) 46%

Refill Hogshead LD9859/ Dist: Mar 1993 Btl: Jun 2013/ Tasted: Sept 2014

A dusty and softly spiced nose with citrus, stewed fruit and a touch of ‘distillery character’. With time there is a waft of peat and toffee’d oak. 

The palate is soft and toffee’d with hints of soft, stewed fruit and bittering spice. A little tart citrus comes through on the middle along with a touch of salt. Short and citrusy finish with the toffee’d oak returning.