Ledaig 1972 (Connoisseurs Choice) (40% Netherlands)

Single malt Ledaig, selected and bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, aged 10 year old from 1972 and bottled at 40%. Made on the Isle of Mull, Ledaig is the heavily peated malt of the island's only distillery. The single malts are bottled without chill filtration at 46.3 percent or higher.

Drawn off stills with their S shaped lyne arms, from peated malt, for a heavily peated island spirit. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak, a vanilla sweetness beneath the smoke. At a youthful age the smoke is vigorous and coastal. Long maturation turns fierce young smoke into a rounded, coastal peat. The distillery sits at the head of the bay, beneath a steep wooded hill. Both malts feed the Scottish Leader and Black Bottle blends as well as single malt. 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.

Bottled at 40%, it is rounded. A sooty smoke with tar and brine, and the refill bourbon lends a quiet vanilla. The texture is oily, the smoke threaded with sea salt. The finish is deep, tarry and sweet. This is Ledaig's smoky, maritime single malt.