Ledaig 2007 MBl (Meadowside Blending) (52.7%)

Meadowside Blending bottled this Ledaig, aged 12 year old from 2007, drawn from cask 700642 and bottled at 52.7%. The outturn was 289 bottles. Ledaig is the smoky side of Tobermory distillery on the Isle of Mull, one of Scotland's oldest distilleries. Water comes from the Gearr Abhainn, a private hill loch above the town of Tobermory.

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. By this age the peat rounds into a sweeter, coastal smoke. The heavily peated spirit holds its smoke well across long maturation. 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.

Bottled at a cask strength 52.7%, it is intense. Wood smoke, BBQ char and a coastal salt, and the refill bourbon lends a quiet vanilla. 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.