Ledaig 1997 BA (Blackadder)

Bottled by Blackadder, this Ledaig matured to 24 year old from 1997, drawn from cask 800035 and bottled at 58.2%. Only 106 bottles were released. Made on the Isle of Mull, Ledaig is the heavily peated malt of the island's only distillery. The distillery makes two malts: the unpeated Tobermory and the peated Ledaig.

It was made in the kinked copper stills from peated barley, for a smoky, tarry make with a sweet core. It rested in ex-Bourbon oak, a light sweetness under the peat. Long ageing brings a soft, sweet smoke, dried fruit and a coastal salt. Active casks frame the smoke without smothering the fruit beneath. Burn Stewart revived production in 1993, and Distell bought the distillery in 2013. The stills carry boil bulbs and a kink in the lyne arms, which lifts the reflux. Water is drawn from a private hill loch, the Gearr Abhainn, above the town. Its painted home town gives the unpeated malt its name.

At 58.2%, undiluted, it is rich and deep. 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. A long, ashy finish ends on sea salt. This is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery.