Ledaig 1993 (Connoisseurs Choice)

This is a Ledaig, picked by Gordon & MacPhail, a 30 year old release from 1993, drawn from cask 706 and bottled at 57.2%. A release of 381 bottles. Ledaig is the peated malt made at Tobermory on Mull, a distillery founded as Ledaig in 1798. Burn Stewart revived the distillery in 1993, and Distell of South Africa bought it in 2013.

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 sherry cask wrapped the smoke in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Decades leave it deep and oily, soft smoke and candied fruit with great age. A patient maturation suits the bold, smoky Ledaig character. The distillery was refurbished and its stills renewed between 2017 and 2019. Mull's maritime climate works into the maturing casks over the years. It is one of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland still working.

At a hearty 57.2% it carries real weight. Peat smoke, brine and a medicinal note, and the Oloroso brings dried fruit, fig and a nutty depth. 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.