Ledaig 1995 PST (Phil & Simon Thompson) (47.4%)

This is a Ledaig, bottled by Phil & Simon Thompson, aged 27 year old from 1995 and bottled at 47.4%. 124 bottles in all. Ledaig is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. It is one of Scotland's oldest distilleries, and the only one on its island.

It was made in the kinked copper stills from peated barley, for a smoky, tarry make with a sweet core. It was matured in ex-Bourbon oak, a vanilla sweetness beneath the smoke. Beyond twenty years the smoke turns gentle and sweet, soot and brine over deep fruit and wax. Sherry wood and peat smoke twine together, dried fruit meeting soot. In dry summers the distillery has paused when its hill loch ran low. 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.

At its natural 47.4% it is concentrated. Peat, iodine and a fruity sweetness, and the bourbon cask adds vanilla and a gentle honey. A sweet fruit and a medicinal note sit under the smoke. Soot and brine see out a long finish. This is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery.