Ledaig 1998 (The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd.)

Single malt Ledaig, from the independent bottler The Vintage Malt Whisky Co Ltd, a 17 year old island malt from 1998, drawn from cask 0035 and bottled at 56.5%. The outturn was 540 bottles. Made on the Isle of Mull, Ledaig is the heavily peated malt of the island's only distillery. Water comes from the Gearr Abhainn, a private hill loch above the town of Tobermory.

The spirit was drawn off stills with their S shaped lyne arms, from peated malt, for a heavily peated island spirit. A sherry cask wrapped the smoke in dried fruit and a nutty depth. Past a decade the smoke softens, the soot and brine settling over ripe fruit. 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.

At a hearty 56.5% it carries real weight. A sooty smoke with tar and brine, and the Oloroso adds figgy fruit and a warm nuttiness. 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.