Ledaig 1995 PST (Phil & Simon Thompson)

Phil & Simon Thompson bottled this Ledaig, a 26 year old from 1995 and bottled at 45%. A release of 255 bottles. Ledaig, the peated malt of Mull's only distillery, keeps the old name the distillery bore when John Sinclair founded it in 1798. The distillery was founded in 1798 by John Sinclair, a local kelp merchant, as the Ledaig distillery.

The spirit was distilled from malt peated to around thirty seven parts per million, building the bold, smoky Ledaig style. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, a light sweetness under the peat. Past twenty years the peat is a soft whisper over a deep, fruity malt. The heavily peated spirit holds its smoke well across long maturation. Water is drawn from a private hill loch, the Gearr Abhainn, above the town. Its painted home town gives the unpeated malt its name. A rare, more heavily peated make has appeared under the name Iona, after a neighbouring isle.

At an easy 45% it is gentle. Wood smoke, BBQ char and a coastal salt, and ex-Bourbon oak gives vanilla and a light sweetness. It is bold and coastal, the peat and soot to the fore. The finish runs smoky, sweet and warm. This is a heavily peated malt from Mull's only distillery.