Ledaig 2001 (Signatory)

Single malt Ledaig, released by Signatory Vintage matured to 20 year old from 2001, drawn from cask 800100 and bottled at 58.8%. 534 bottles in all. Made on the Isle of Mull, Ledaig is the heavily peated malt of the island's only distillery. The distillery was founded in 1798 by John Sinclair, a local kelp merchant, as the Ledaig distillery.

The spirit was made in the kinked copper stills from peated barley, for a smoky, tarry make with a sweet core. Maturation in sherry laid dried fruit over the peat. Long ageing brings a soft, sweet smoke, dried fruit and a coastal salt. Sherry wood and peat smoke twine together, dried fruit meeting soot. 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.

At its natural 58.8% it is concentrated. Peat, iodine and a fruity sweetness, and sherried dried fruit and a nutty edge come through. A sweet fruit and a medicinal note sit under the smoke. The finish is deep, tarry and sweet. This is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery.