Ledaig 2007 DRFS Wu Dram Clan Community (Duckhammer’s Rare & Fine Spirits)

This is a Ledaig, picked by Duckhammer's Rare & Fine Spirits matured to 16 year old from 2007 and bottled at 49.2%. The outturn was 142 bottles. Made on the Isle of Mull, Ledaig is the heavily peated malt of the island's only distillery. Ledaig, the old name kept for the peated malt, means safe haven in Gaelic.

It was distilled from peated malt in kinked copper stills on soft Mull water, giving a sooty, coastal peat smoke over a fruity sweetness. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, a light sweetness under the peat. Past a decade the smoke softens, the soot and brine settling over ripe fruit. A patient maturation suits the bold, smoky Ledaig character. The distillery sits at the head of the bay, beneath a steep wooded hill. Both malts feed the Scottish Leader and Black Bottle blends as well as single malt. The distillery was refurbished and its stills renewed between 2017 and 2019.

At a hearty 49.2% it carries real weight. Peat smoke, brine and a medicinal note, and honeyed vanilla comes through from the ex-Bourbon. A BBQ char and a sea salt lift it. Soot and brine see out a long finish. This is Ledaig, the peated malt of the Isle of Mull.