Ledaig 1972 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This Ledaig was released by Gordon & MacPhail, a 13 year old release from 1972 and bottled at 40%. Ledaig is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Water comes from the Gearr Abhainn, a private hill loch above the town of Tobermory.

The spirit was distilled from peated malt in kinked copper stills on soft Mull water, giving a sooty, coastal peat smoke over a fruity sweetness. A refill bourbon cask held it, keeping the smoke to the fore. By this age the peat rounds into a sweeter, coastal smoke. Refill oak lets the peat and brine of Ledaig lead. The town of Tobermory was laid out by the British Fisheries Society a decade before the distillery came. The distillery's history is broken by long silences; its buildings once stored a local cheddar. Burn Stewart revived production in 1993, and Distell bought the distillery in 2013.

At 40% it is supple and rich. Peat smoke, brine and a medicinal note, and the bourbon cask adds vanilla and a gentle honey. A BBQ char and a sea salt lift it. A long, peaty finish smoulders to the end. This is Ledaig, the peated malt of the Isle of Mull.