Ledaig 18 Years Old LiSo (Living Souls)

A Ledaig single malt, picked by Living Souls, an 18 year old island malt, drawn from cask Batch 1 and bottled at 41%. Ledaig, the peated malt of Mull's only distillery, keeps the old name the distillery bore when John Sinclair founded it in 1798. Water comes from the Gearr Abhainn, a private hill loch above the town of Tobermory.

The spirit was distilled from malt peated to around thirty seven parts per million, building the bold, smoky Ledaig style. An ex-Bourbon barrel shaped it, vanilla under the maritime smoke. By this age the peat rounds into a sweeter, coastal smoke. The cool, damp island air gives a slow, even maturation. Mull's maritime climate works into the maturing casks over the years. It is one of the oldest commercial distilleries in Scotland still working. 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.

At 41% it is supple and rich. Wood smoke, BBQ char and a coastal salt, and the ex-Bourbon lends vanilla and a soft honey. It is bold and coastal, the peat and soot to the fore. The close is long, smoke over a sweet fruit. This is a heavily peated malt from Mull's only distillery.