Ledaig 2011 HiSp (Hidden Spirits)

A Ledaig single malt, bottled by Hidden Spirits, aged 11 year old from 2011, drawn from cask LG1123 and bottled at 51.9%. Ledaig is the heavily peated single malt of Tobermory distillery, the only distillery on the Isle of Mull, founded in 1798. Its history is famously broken, with long silences; the buildings once held holiday lets and stored cheese.

Worked through high reflux stills from peated malt, for the smoky, maritime spirit Ledaig is known for. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, a light sweetness under the peat. At this age the smoke is fierce and ashy, the brine and medicinal note sharp. Years in oak round the smoke while the medicinal, tarry notes mellow. Tobermory has distilled in the island's harbour town since 1798. 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.

Bottled at a cask strength 51.9%, it is intense. A maritime smoke over ripe fruit, and vanilla and a soft oak come from the bourbon wood. Soft smoke and brine sit behind the cask sweetness. The close is long, smoke over a sweet fruit. This is a bold, peated island single malt.